The new hall, located in Willis Street between Manners and Dixon streets, will be fully catered and will offer over 300 beds.
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Guilford says the new hall of residence will bring a multitude of benefits to Wellington.
“Victoria University already contributes in excess of $1 billion per annum to the Wellington regional economy and that will increase as the University continues to grow. Students and their visiting families and friends are a significant part of that— the estimated expenditure per student, excluding fees, is between $15,000 and $20,000 per year.
Victoria students also play an important role in the Wellington community through volunteering—Victoria currently has over 900 students involved with volunteering activities through its Victoria Plus service and leadership development programme and 560 students have been through Volunteer Wellington in the last year.
“And of course they make a significant contribution in many others ways—through part time jobs, internships and involvement with the creative industries. Our students enrich city life, making it a better and livelier place for us all.”
Professor Guilford says a recent report—KPMG Lessons from Magnet Cities—shows that a key requirement for cities that want to prosper in the future is to identify and attract the cohort of talent they need to ensure a more dynamic future.
“The report shows that the thriving cities of the future will have a unique feature that attracts young people. Cities need to foster innovation and have a brand that attracts young innovators and risk-takers whose contributions will boost the city’s prosperity and its economy. Victoria University is committed to helping Wellington become one of those cities of choice for young talent.”
Victoria University’s Director of Campus Services Jenny Bentley says Victoria’s new hall, at 143 Willis Street in what is currently known as the Tel Tower building, will provide accommodation in furnished single rooms across eleven floors.
“The project involves upgrading and repurposing a currently empty office building into a high quality hall of residence with full amenities.
“The modern central city building meets a high standard in terms of earthquake resilience, but its current layout means it is not ideal for office use in the digital age, which requires more open spaces and good connectivity between different areas of the building.
“Reconfiguring it for student accommodation makes excellent use of the building as well as supporting Victoria’s strategic development,” says Ms Bentley.
The new hall will bring the number of student accommodation beds offered by Victoria to around 3,300 across twelve halls of residence, which includes halls that are owned or leased by Victoria and a number that are run by partner organisations.
Professor Guilford says the new hall is an exciting addition to the University’s accommodation portfolio and will give students starting at Victoria in 2017 another option for enjoying state-of-the-art accommodation in the heart of Wellington city.