Griffith Uni to Build Out 1000-Bed Gold Coast Campus

Demand for purpose-built student accommodation continues to skyrocket with Griffith University committing to expand its offering to 1000 beds at its Southport campus.

The south-east Queensland university filed plans late last year for an 11-storey, 459-bed accommodation tower, partnering again with Campus Living Villages (CLV), who owns and operates the balance of its accommodation. 

Construction on the project is due to begin in June this year with completion slated for mid-2026. 

CLV has more than 27,000 beds on the books across 46 on-campus purpose-built student accommodation sites in Australia, the United Kingdom and the US. 

It was founded in Sydney in 2002 and is owned by four superannuation funds: Hostplus, Rest Super, Equip Super and NGS Super. Its portfolio is heavily focused on its international holdings, plus Australian campuses across Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Perth. 

CLV works in partnership with universities to develop on-campus accommodation, unlike its contemporaries, Scape and Iglu, who focus on central CBD locations. 

The Urban Developer believes the CLV portfolio may be put to market in the coming months to test investor appetite. 

And it comes at a good time, with the latest JLL research into the asset class indicating it’s a market that is poised for growth. 

Student migration of the past decade

Source: JLL

JLL analysis shows temporary higher education visa holders accounted for 33.9 per cent of net overseas migration in the 2022-23 financial year, compared to the long-term average trend of 21.1 per cent. 

During that financial year China contributed $8.7 billion to Australia’s education export income, representing 24 per cent of the total revenue, while India generated $5.9 billion and accounted for 16.3 per cent of Australia’s total education export income during the period.

The JLL report indicated that building out supply will be a major hurdle for the industry as demand peaks. 

Griffith University vice-chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans said the new student accommodation tower would help the university keep up with demand.

“The tower will feature a mix of studio, two-bedroom rooms and accessible units with a substantial uplift in amenities to benefit all residents that include a new swimming pool, cinema and a range of contemporary communal spaces,” Evans said. 

Campus Living Villages chief executive John Schroder said the Gold Coast campus tower would be the company’s first new build in Australia since the pandemic. 

The new tower would target a five-star Green Star rating, Schroder said.