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Contact:
Jan Fialkowski, 604.291.4535; jan_fialkowski@sfu.ca

The number of students who will call SFU home in addition to their place of study is about to get much bigger.

A pair of residence towers will open on August 31, increasing the campus residency by 450 students. In all, student residents at SFU will fill a total of 1,600 spots. Including family-oriented units, that is expected to create a nucleus of nearly 2,000 residents on campus.

In addition, a third tower is slated to open next spring.

The new units are aimed primarily at first-year students coming to campus directly from high school, says residence director Jan Fialkowski. The majority will be making their moves in time for SFU's student orientation program prior to the start of classes.

The the new buildings are traditional co-ed residences. In addition to furnishings, including an extra-long bed, each room is also wired for high-speed internet and optional telephone service. Washrooms and common rooms with microwaves and TVs are shared with fellow students.

Students living in the new residences will participate in SFU's new meal plan program, the first since the early 1970s, to be operated in a dining hall being built as part of the new facility. Students from other residences have the option of participating.

These are the first new residences since a townhouse complex was built in 1992. Standing eight floors high, they are equivalent in height to the family-oriented Louis Riel House, where residents will also benefit from the new neighbourhood environment.

Other residences on campus include Shell House, and McTaggart-Cowan Hall, both traditional co-ed style residences; Hamilton Hall, for graduate students, and Madge Hogarth House for women only.

“It has been a massive building project, with a great transformation of the area over the last 14 months,” says Fialkowski. In addition to student housing, a 14-room hotel is being created on the top floor of the first building with sweeping views of Burrard Inlet and Vancouver, for guests visiting campus.

A street-party to celebrate the new facilities is planned for Thursday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m.

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