The province says a new student housing project for Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) in Merritt will bring family units to the school for the first time.
In a news release, Post-Secondary Education Minister Anne Kang says the project will include 12 townhouses comprised of a mix of two- and three-bedroom units meant primarily for Indigenous families.
That will bring the total number of student beds on NVIT’s campus, which is BC’s only public Indigenous post-secondary institute, to 110 spaces from the current the number of 80 on-campus beds.
The projected opening is the fall of 2027. The province is providing $19.6 million to fund the project, which will also include an expanded childcare facility with 36 spaces as well as program spaces to train early childhood educators.
According to the news release, the facility will align with the Eagle’s Pech concept, which emphasizes Indigenous knowledge and a culturally grounded design to connect students, families and the community.