Queen’s University hosted an open house for its newest residence, welcoming Queen’s and Kingston community members to tour the five-story building located at 156 Albert St.

Faculty, staff, neighbours, and even some incoming students, toured the residence which includes 334 fully-equipped rooms featuring semi-private washrooms, along with shared study rooms, laundry facilities, and kitchenettes on each floor. Designed with accessibility at the forefront, the residence also features several private and semi-private accessible suites, wheelchair accessible entrances, and is fully serviced by elevators and stairs. It has also achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, contributing strength to the university’s overall sustainability efforts.

Other unique new elements include a prayer space, indoor bicycle storage, a service animal washing station, as well as a new Indigenous gathering space.

The residence will be home for more than 320 new undergraduates and 10 dons, who will move in on Saturday, Sept. 3.

The residence was built by Graham Construction and designed by Diamond Schmitt from Toronto in partnership with local firm Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd.