CASE STUDY

Carlaw Park Student Village
University of Auckland

We recently partnered with The University of Auckland to provide them with an innovative accommodation solution. This case study is a great example of how our collaborative development approach can solve capacity limitations for growing institutions.

Project

Carlaw Park Student Village, Stanley Street, Auckland

Client

The University of Auckland

Development Size and Use

28,000m2 residential complex with 203 three-to-six room self-contained apartments accommodating 907 students. Part of a wider accommodation precinct totalling 52,000m2 with 416 three-to-six room self-contained apartments accommodating up to 1,600 students.

Appointment

Construction started May 2020 with completion December 2022.

Budget

$250 million.

The vision

To design and construct a world class residential accommodation facility which will help attract and retain the next generation of students at New Zealand’s largest tertiary education institution, The University of Auckland.

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The team

Carlaw Park Student Village in Auckland’s CBD has been developed using a new construction and funding model designed to create new accommodation infrastructure -
without the upfront capital cost.

Ergon Properties
The long-term owners of the facility and asset, Ergon Properties is an unlisted Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE). Designed and held by a group of experienced investors, the entity will lease the residential complex to The University of Auckland over a 30-year period.

Reidy & Co and Haydn & Rollett
As joint venture partners in the development of the Village - Reidy & Co and Haydn & Rollett have managed all stages of the project development and build - from inception through to its completion.

Haydn & Rollett
The highly experienced main construction contractor, Haydn & Rollett delivered this quality accommodation outcome in a testing market environment.

The build

Meticulous planning and implementation of a challenging construction programme, which successfully navigated a series of pandemic lockdowns, saw the development partners successfully complete the $250 million project ahead of schedule.

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The finished product

The Carlaw Park Student Village complex has 416 three-to-six-bedroom self-contained apartments and can accommodate over 1,600 residents - with the recent opening of the ten storey 28,000m2 third stage building on Stanley Street, the largest of its kind in the country, adding 907 rooms.

University of Auckland research suggests the accommodation model used in the Village, which incorporates apartment rental, utilities, internet and gym membership into one fixed cost is around 17% cheaper for students than living in a private flat off campus.
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More than simply an accommodation building, the facility was carefully designed to create a space where students can interact with each other and live with the convenience and security of a tight-knit education community.
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Inspired by US college accommodation, the largest of the three facilities in the complex is built around a large central courtyard which can accommodate recreational activities ranging from BBQs to volleyball.
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Extensive consultation with students has also seen the incorporation of contemporary design elements including cinema rooms, gaming areas, retail, communal kitchens, music rooms, e-bike storage, study and artistic spaces.
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Acoustic sound proofing is designed to create an urban oasis, despite being in close proximity to a motorway entrance.

How we can help you

Experience shows that education providers looking to develop inner-city accommodation facilities can face a range of barriers as competition for sites in our metro centres intensifies.

Our joint venture partnership offers any organisation requiring large scale residential accommodation infrastructure the opportunity to meet the needs of their stakeholders but without the capital investment cost.

The model is designed to be flexible and scalable and can be deployed throughout the country to address a shortage of self-contained apartments in tertiary institutions as well as a range of other sectors, including defence and health care.

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