Campus Living Villages (CLV), a world leading student accommodation specialist, has added another important project to its program having secured a new partnership with Western Australia's Edith Cowan University (ECU).

The new accommodation will be a student village with 355 beds, resident common areas, a pool, landscaping and a café to be located within the University's Mount Lawley campus which is close to Perth's CBD.

Responding to strong demand for student accommodation, Edith Cowan University sought proposals from organisations that could design, construct, finance and operate all of the University's student accommodation requirements – both new and existing.

CLV will manage the existing accommodation including 166 beds at Mount Lawley, 148 beds at Joondalup (also within Perth's metropolitan area) and 52 beds on the Bunbury campus 200 km south of Perth.

The value of the project, including the new development is $38 million.

A development application for the new student accommodation has been submitted to the City of Stirling Council in Perth. The 355 beds will be contained in a mix of one, three, four and five bedroom apartments.

“Especially in these challenging economic times, universities are recognising the value of bringing in experts to develop and manage their student accommodation,” said CLV's CEO Australia Martin Earp.

“With over 18 years experience in the development, financing and operation of student accommodation, CLV currently manages or is developing approximately 50,000 beds on 50 university campuses worldwide.”

ECU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kerry Cox says that this new development is a response to high demand for on-campus accommodation.

“The rental market in Perth has tightened considerably in recent years and on-campus accommodation provides an affordable, convenient and secure solution for students relocating to study,” he said.

“ECU's Student Villages provide a safe, caring and culturally supportive environment for all residents and we are pleased to be able to extend this service to more students.”

“We are pleased to be engaging one of the world's leading student accommodation companies to develop these facilities and look forward to making them available to our students.”

CLV has a strong track record in providing quality, tailored accommodation for tertiary institutions in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and United Kingdom.

Late last year CLV announced its first project in the United Kingdom. CLV is now managing accommodation for 1400 students across four student residences at the University of Salford, Manchester. CLV is investing £2.6m on the refurbishment of two of the University's accommodation blocks over the next two years.

CLV's most recent developments in Australia include a village at the doorstep of the Queensland University of Technology in Kelvin Grove, Brisbane which integrates residential, commercial, retail and community facilities. A key feature of this development is its range of environmental measures including rainwater harvesting, natural ventilation, low energy lighting and natural floor materials. This village achieved a five-star BASIX rating.

Similarly, the first stage of a new complex for the University of Canberra was recently opened with plenty of environmental features, including greywater recycling and a wildlife corridor for native animals. The first stage consists of 345 beds and a further 162 will come on board in second semester. The completed development will add an additional 507 beds to the Village, giving a total of 1332 beds.

In addition, UWS Village, a modern 343 bed facility, just opened in January 2009 on the University of Western Sydney's Parramatta campus.

Other future projects include 1021 beds under construction at the University of New South Wales due for completion in January 2010.

CLV also has other international projects scheduled for completion this year with an 847 bed complex due this August in Texas, USA with the Cottages of Lubbock project at Texas Tech University.

With the Federal Government's commitment to boosting higher education participation over the next three years, the demand for student housing is expected to grow.

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For more information please contact: Fairina Cheng +61 2 9270 1662 Fairina.Cheng@clv.com.au