The City of Kamloops says while it has not issued a permit to Thompson Rivers University to build temporary camp-style student housing on campus, there are no concerns with the project.

Building and Engineering Development Manager Jason Dixon tells NL News the City has worked closely with the university to resolve the concerns it had after a previous application was denied.

“Our biggest concern as it relates to the building code was to do with ventilation, “Dixon said.

“We wanted to ensure that all the units would be individually vented and heated so that they weren’t sharing air amongst all the units. It seems particularly important in the midst of a global pandemic. They just weren’t originally designed for that so there was a fair bit of back and forth.”

As far as the permit is concerned, Dixon says its a matter of when and not if it will be issued.

“We’ve resolved what the code issues are and what needs to be done. We’re really just waiting for paperwork at this point,” Dixon added.

“Clearly, we wanted to be as helpful as we could. We feel like we’re at a place where TRU understands our needs and we understand the need at TRU and the urgency for it. So we’re trying to be as accommodating as we can.”

TRU Associate Vice-President of Campus Infrastructure, Sustainability, and Ancillary Services Warren Asuchak, says the 114 units on an underused parking lot at the corner of McGill Road and University Drive, should be ready for students in January.

“Using an underused parking lot is a good allocation of our land resources to help address the need for more student accommodations and TRU thanks the City of Kamloops for supporting this temporary solution,” Asuchak said on Monday.