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UniverCity
I explored UniverCity during the long weekend. My perception before visiting UniverCity was that it was going to be lame. However, I quickly found out that wasn't the case. The condos were high quality, the view was breath-taking, and the design concept is brilliant. The developers certainly thought of clever ways to change the ambiance of the community on top of Burnaby mountain. If you've noticed, the University crescent has created flowage in the community and wraps the neighborhood in a big close-knit circle. It is also interesting to note that the community will be adding a brand new, state-of-the-art elementary school, opening in 2010. In my opinion, having youths near the campus will add more variation among the region and it will be refreshing and inspiring to see young faces. The community is young and in its developing stages. It still needs more shops and amenities so that the residence do not have to commute down the mountain for every day things. I think the SFU community atop the mountain has huge potential to become an independent region like UBC. How do you perceive the community?
Comments
I think the prices at UBC are more reasonable than SFU prices. When I was apartment searching, rental properties at Univercity were on par with prices downtown. The end result is UBC has an ocean nearby, and access to areas such as Kitsilano and Kerrisdale, and closer access to downtown.
Although Univercity is trying to create a self contained community, grocery store, school etc, I really don't think its economical for anyone who works or goes to school off campus. I would not want to live on top of a mountain where I'd get constantly stranded during snow storms.
The few kids that already live up there are bad enough. They're always breaking into the CS common room and vandalizing stuff or stealing stuff. My friend caught some campus-kids stealing his sunglasses one time..
Even if they were all perfect little saints, they'd still be annoying. I really don't want to be distracted by kids running around the school grounds while I'm trying to study for a midterm, or work on an assignment.
Besides, It would just kill the whole "university" vibe.