New apartments are built to accommodate a number of students who are at the moment looking for a good and affordable place near their chosen campus in Brisbane. The building is designed carefully for the need of the students.
AN international private equity firm has applied to build hundreds of 18sq m student apartments in Brisbane, less than a week after the local council reduced infrastructure charges to spur construction of the pint-sized units.
Australia Education (Holdings) 2 has lodged an application for a twin-tower development of 15 and 17 storeys to accommodate 784 units, and 942 beds, in inner-city South Brisbane.
Under the application for 190 Vulture Street, the first block will have 526 units — 609 beds including hostel-style rooms with shared facilities — and 10 car spaces. There are 210 bicycle parks proposed.
The second stage, a 15-storey tower, would have 258 units and 333 beds with 19 car parking spaces and 266 cycle lots. “The project is designed to provide students with high-quality affordable housing off campus with a collegiate lifestyle,” an architectural statement said.
Small unit sizes were controversial in Melbourne, which has the nation’s highest number of student units, sparking discussions on whether size limits should be introduced.
Brisbane City Council wants development of student accommodation to meet underlying demand of 16,000 beds for international students. Company searches show Australia Education lists Queensland-based Paul Fell and Switzerland-based Xavier Giboin as directors. They are employed with private equity firm Pamoja Capital, which has owned Queensland’s Bedarra Island. In 2013, Pamoja Capital gained a majority stake in established student accommodation provider Unilodge, which did not respond to The Australian yesterday.
Late last month Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced that the council and utility-provider QUU would slash the infrastructure charges from $18,500 per unit to $4500 for managed student accommodation. A spokesman for the Lord Mayor said the development application would be open to public comment and was subject to the City Plan. The fee reduction would depend on the outcome of that decision.
Local councillor Helen Abrahams said the units were “cubby houses” and the city was seeing construction at any cost. “Many Australians would find that space very small, too small, unless they had access to a wide open space, which is not available on this site,” she said.
JLL national director of student accommodation services Conal Newland said about 4000 student rooms were currently subject to approval or soon to be lodged in Brisbane.
Source:theaustralian.com.au
This lodging building is essential and can be very helpful for both local and international students since it caters excellent educational benefits. It is a solution to the aggressive demand for student accommodation.