Student Accommodation Sector Under Threat

AUSTRALIA’s lucrative student accommodation sector is at risk, with cash strapped United States universities said to be preparing to open their doors to more foreign graduates in the wake of the economic downturn.

A cheaper US dollar, scores of student accommodation and faster visa approval times than Australia, should give the United States an edge, according to a report in The Australian’s Higher Education section.

“The obvious implication is the market for foreign students will become more competitive because you will have a lot of large and high-prestige universities competing for students,” he said.

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Minister Justin Madden Approves Controversial Development in Clayton

Justin MaddenAFTER a decade of debate, the Minister for Planning Justin Madden has gone against the local council and approved a major development, at a prominent junction in Melbourne’s south-east suburb of Clayton.

The decision paves the way for a low-rise shopping centre on the north-east corner of Dandenong and Blackburn roads to be demolished, and replaced with towers incorporating about 400 apartments, a hotel, a new shopping centre, and landscaped gardens.

About 10 per cent of units in the project will be set aside for affordable housing. Most of the remaining units will be targeted to students. Sources speculate the project will have an end value of about $270 million.

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CBD Student Accommodation Development Site Fetches $18 Million

PROMINENT property investor Michael Buxton has sold one of the city’s biggest student accommodation development sites for $18 million.
 
The 410 Elizabeth Street office building, which Mr Buxton bought off the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology five years ago for $8.25 million before obtaining a redevelopment permit, is expected to make way for a 50-level, 240-unit tower.
 
According to council reports, the new tower is expected to be delivered over the next three to five years.

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VicUrban Announces Plans for $100 Million Office and Apartment Complex, Abutting Footscray Train Station

VICURBAN is proceeding with plans to build a major office building, and two apartment developments on a prominent, but disused 1.3 hectare block, abutting the Footscray train station, in Melbourne’s inner west.
 
The government’s sustainable land development arm is calling for submissions to develop three sites around McNab Avene, a former bowling green bound by the Footscray Market, Victoria University, and two train lines.
 
Government agencies, believed to be State Trustees and City West Water, will fully occupy the 15,000 square metre office, while the apartment towers, one of which could rise some 14-levels, will be a mix of traditional “own your own” units, student accommodation and affordable housing.

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City Peugeot Site Sells, Elizabeth Street Melbourne

DEVELOPMENT activity around the frantic Haymarket roundabout, at the intersection where Elizabeth Street meets Flemington Road, is about to get even busier.
 
A student accommodation developer is believed to have paid about $5.6 million for the City Peugeot dealership at 690 Elizabeth Street, near the corner of Pelham Street.
 
The double-storey dealership, which has rear access to Berkeley Street, was sold with a short term tenancy to City Peugeot and City Subaru, which will relocate to Port Melbourne.

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