Nova Scotia education news — Construction has begun on a new 90-bed NSCC Kingstec residence in Kentville, and for students currently commuting from towns like Windsor, on-campus housing means time back to study, work a part-time job, and actually build a life in the Annapolis Valley.
By Maplestime Education Desk | Nova Scotia, Canada | September 24, 2026
Sources: Education News Canada, Government of Nova Scotia | Last updated: September 24, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Site work is underway on a 90-bed student residence at NSCC’s Kingstec Campus in Kentville, announced Tuesday, September 22.
- The project will ease pressure on Kentville’s rental market while giving students affordable on-campus housing.
- Delivered by the Department of Public Works; safety fencing, access routes and site preparation begin over the coming days and weeks.
- It builds on 350 student housing spaces already created at the Pictou, Akerley and Ivany campuses.
90-Bed NSCC Kingstec Residence Breaks Ground
Provincial and school officials were in Kentville on Tuesday morning to announce that work has started on the new student housing facility at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec Campus. The NSCC Kingstec residence will add about 90 beds on campus — and, just as importantly, free up rental homes in a tight local market for everyone else.
Over the coming days and weeks, contractors will begin site preparation: safety fencing, construction access routes, and getting the site ready to build. NSCC and the contractor will keep students, employees and the surrounding community updated as work moves forward.
Students Welcome The News
Kingstec Student Association president Alex Faye did not hide his enthusiasm. “It’s a great opportunity for the students and the town,” Faye said.
“When you have affordable housing options, it can help you financially,” he added. “And, another thing, it helps you build a community. When you’re living in student housing, you can build a lot more relationships with other students.”
Faye pointed out that many of his classmates commute to school from nearby communities like Windsor — long drives that eat into study time. Living closer to campus, he said, “gives you more time to study, have a part-time job, all those other things that students are doing.”
Related: Canada Housing Crisis 2026: What’s Driving Prices and What Comes Next
A Province-Wide Housing Push
“Access to affordable housing is a key part of student success,” said Nolan Young, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration. “This investment puts students first by creating more on-campus housing.”
The Kingstec project, delivered by the Department of Public Works, builds on provincial investments that have already created 350 student housing spaces at NSCC’s Pictou, Akerley and Ivany campuses — part of a province-wide drive to put a roof over every student who needs one.
NSCC Kingstec campus principal Jason Clark put it simply: “Everyone knows how important it is to have a roof over your head — a place to call your own. This new housing facility will provide students with a place to live while studying and will help grow and strengthen our campus community. We are grateful for the government’s continued confidence in our students, our work and our mission as a college.”
Student housing is one of those things that sounds boring until you’re the one hunting for a bedroom in September. Ninety beds in Kentville won’t fix Nova Scotia’s housing shortage — but for 90 students, it means studying instead of commuting, and for Kentville renters, it means 90 fewer people competing for the same apartments. That’s a win worth breaking ground for.
Maplestime will provide updates from this story as new announcements are made.
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Should every college in Canada be required to house its own students before they get to expand enrollment — or is that asking too much of the provinces? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian who knows a student scrambling for housing this fall.
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