Text below from September, 2019 Vancouver Sun article
New and exciting opportunities and activities are all part of the university experience for students. But sometimes, the hunt for suitable accommodation is one of the more difficult challenges. That task is being made a little easier for students attending the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus with the launch of U-Eight, the Mission Group’s 90-unit condo building in Kelowna’s University District. The three-storey wood-frame building, which will include a selection of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, is the last in Mission Group’s series of condo developments in the University District. The developer’s six previous condo buildings comprise 451 sold units in addition to rental units at Ivy Walk, with 63 homes, and Ivy Hall, with 108.
“The University District project was based on a strong demand for housing within walking distance to UBCO,” says Randy Shier, Mission Group’s president.The UBCO campus has expanded enrolment since its first intake of 3,500 students in September 2005, recording a total of 9,935 students this year. U-Eight is appealing to parents purchasing a home for their children attending UBCO and to investors who intend to rent the units.Designed by Meiklejohn Architects, U-Eight will have a modern look with clean lines, says Carrie Dawson, Mission Group’s assistant development manager, while a red accent colour selected to mark the entrance to the building will differentiate it from the other condo developments in University District.
Bearing in mind that students are expected to be the future residents of the building, the units are designed to be durable and maximize the living space, while each bedroom has its own bathroom. This combination of space to socialize along with the privacy that comes with an individual bathroom has been a successful layout in Mission Group’s previous University District developments, Dawson says.