Mohawk College nearly doubles student beds with first off-campus residence
Catharine Street South building set to open May 1
Mohawk College is adding beds for up to 300 more students this spring with a new downtown Hamilton residence building, the institution’s first that’s off campus.
Linden Hall, a nine-storey building at 55 Catharine St. S., has 150 units and can accommodate as many as twice that number of students, according to a news release.
“We are excited to nearly double our residence space by providing Mohawk College students with an off-campus housing option,” vicepresident of corporate services Kim Watkins said in the release.
When the new building opens in May, the college will have 640 beds to accommodate its growing student population, which has climbed steadily since dropping in 2020 during the pandemic. Currently, 18,615 students study at Mohawk,
up from 16,961 in 2022-23.
All students are eligible for residence. First-year students aren’t guaranteed a spot, but the college works to help students find housing, college spokesperson Bill Steinburg said.
Each unit in the building, a former Columbia International College residence just south of Main Street East and about a 10-minute walk from Jackson Square, has two double beds, two desks and two cabinets, as well as a small refrigerator and bathroom. The building has a shared kitchen and several common lounges. Laundry and internet are also included.
Registration began the first week of April, and the new building will officially open to students on May 1, in time for the summer term.
Mohawk is leasing the building to increase residence spaces, something the college “has been committed to” for years and is part of the college’s master plans, Steinburg said in an email.
In addition to the new building, the college recently announced a new alternative housing initiative that pairs students with local seniors with room to spare in their homes.
The push to create more student housing comes amid an ongoing housing and affordability crisis that students say has made it increasingly difficult to find housing.
“Students have been experiencing similar challenges to everyone else in the community who is looking for rental housing,” Steinburg said. “This residence provides another college-based option for them.”
Linden Hall will have an “introductory” rate of $650 per month over the summer, which will increase in the fall.
McMaster University is also adding student housing in the city, including a partially built graduate residence on Bay Street South that opened some floors to students in September and a new undergraduate building on Main Street West that, once built, will be the west Hamilton institution’s largest with beds for 1,366 students.