The University of Hertfordshire and Uliving (a consortium between Bouygues Development and Derwent Living) have announced that they have reached financial close on the £190m new student accommodation scheme.
It will be located on the College Lane campus in Hatfield with Uliving responsible for the design, build, finance and operation of the new student accommodation totalling over 3,000 bedrooms, and the associated social spaces and infrastructure works.
Professor Quintin McKellar, Vice-Chancellor, the University of Hertfordshire said: "The University is thrilled to have developed a true zero carbon project and raise £190m in the process. In our view, this is pioneering and commensurate with the values of the UK's leading business-facing University. We attribute the success of this project to our partners Uliving and to our Estates team for providing us with a way to further invest in our students so that we can continue to enhance their lives on campus."
The scheme will be delivered in three phases with the first phase due to commence immediately and is scheduled to be completed in September 2014 in readiness for the start of the new 2014/2015 academic year.
Each subsequent phase will be completed in time for the start of the following academic year with the entire scheme being completed in September 2016. Construction works will run alongside the existing accommodation units, which will be transferred to Uliving immediately and be in full operation throughout.
Bouygues Development will manage the development and construction of over 2500 new bedrooms before September 2016 under a contract worth ca. £117m.
Derwent Living, again as part of the Uliving consortium, will be responsible for the operation and facilities management elements of the contract for a total period of 50 years. The operation and facility management tasks will begin immediately to cover the existing student accommodation.
In addition to the main construction and refurbishment works, the scheme includes new sports pitches, a campus gym, informal learning and social spaces and a new dedicated bus route.
