UBC's newest rental building for faculty and staff has officially welcomed its first tenants.
Credit: Village Gate Homes
Symphony is a 157-unit building in the southern area of the Wesbrook community. It marks the fourth staff and faculty housing development to be completed in the last six years.
The first families to move in opened the doors to their new pet-friendly homes in late-August.
"It's always exciting at the opening of a new staff and faculty housing project to have people see their homes for the first time," said Michael White, associate vice-president of Campus and Community Planning. "We know the Vancouver rental market can be challenging and our aim is to help provide our staff and faculty with high-quality, below-market-rate homes, close to campus."
Symphony's units range from four-bed options to junior one-bedroom suites, renting from $1,653 to $4,148 per month.
The ground-level courtyard includes a furnished patio area and shared playground for kids, while the building lobby offers study and work nooks. An outdoor patio and electric barbecue area on the fifth floor looks out over the towering canopy of Pacific Spirit Regional Park.
Units are bright and airy, with air conditioning and forced air heating. Patio glass is patterned to deter bird strikes. The designs also include additional in-suite storage space, a key need identified in feedback from tenants in other developments.
Symphony was designed by DYS Architecture and built by Ventana Construction for UBC Properties Trust (UBCPT). It is leased and managed by UBCPT through Village Gate Homes.
"We're very intentional in ensuring our developments meet the highest sustainability standards and Symphony is no exception," said White. "Appliances and fixtures are water efficient, units are designed to limit heat loss and have high-performance windows and patio doors, and landscape design is drought resistant. During the build, more than 85 per cent of construction waste was diverted from landfills and more than half of the concrete aggregate used was extracted, processed and manufactured within 200 kilometres of the project site."
"Adding 157 new homes brings the number of faculty and staff built to over 1,400. These are below-market rental units, giving more people the opportunity to live close to where they work," said Aubrey Kelly, UBCPT president and CEO. "Any profits generated through this important work feed back into UBC's endowment fund that supports the university's incredible teaching, learning and research."
As of August 2025, UBC's Vancouver campus, including academic and neighbourhood areas, had more than 21,000 homes, including more than 14,000 non-market student housing rental beds, making UBC the largest provider of student housing in Canada. All of UBC's student housing beds are rented at below-market prices.
Of the nearly 7,300 neighbourhood dwellings, 34 per cent are rental homes prioritized for faculty, staff, students and non-UBC employees on campus (for example, retail workers). Nineteen per cent, or more than 1,400 apartments and townhomes, are discounted homes for faculty or staff at below-market rents.
Interior lobby of Symphony at UBC. (Credit: Village Gate Homes.)
UBC plans to build even more affordable housing as it begins implementing Campus Vision 2050, a long-term plan that will guide significant growth and change on the Vancouver campus over the next 25 years. This forecasts a doubling of the campus residential population by 2050, with half of the residents living in below-market accommodations, including 3,300 new student beds for a total of 17,300, and about 6,000 new rental homes. Campus Vision also plans for more academic space, enhanced green spaces and local biodiversity, and more green infrastructure to align with UBC's sustainability commitments. The Vision was developed through an extensive two-year planning and engagement process. For information about Symphony and other homes available to rent by staff and faculty, please go to Village Gate Homes.
