ON CAMPUS
campusreview.com.au
WSU’s Engineering
Innovation Hub.
Photo: supplied
Sky’s the limit
For many tertiary education
institutions, the only way is up.
By Andrew Borger
A
ustralia’s higher education sector is
facing significant structural changes
on multiple fronts. New student
demographics, technological advances,
the need to partner and collaborate with
industry, and funding reductions are
permeating the competitive sector, and in
response, we’re seeing campuses around
the world adopt new ways of thinking.
Over in Boston, Northeastern University
delivered a world -class vertical campus
that has industry partnerships built into the
fabric of the building. SCI-Arc’s architecture
school repurposed an old tram shed in
downtown LA with a focus on the student
experience as opposed to expensive
finishes. Elsewhere, Cornell Tech in New
York comprises a joint academic venture
between Cornell University and the
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology,
setting the benchmark for leading-edge
sustainability and learning in the digital age.
In Australia, tertiary institutes are also
shifting their roles from once-competitive
rivals to partners working together to realise
a new model of collaboration: vertical
education. We’re not calling the end of the
campus solution, but how the real estate
provided is definitely changing.
With the merging of workplace and
lecture hall ever increasing, we’re seeing
an increasing alignment in the needs
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and preferences of students and office
workers, who are seeking the same benefits,
including:
∞ central location
∞ proximity to public transport
∞ cultural and recreational amenity
∞ cafes, small bars and restaurants
∞ retail amenity
∞ connection with industry
∞ workplace technology
∞ health and wellness programs.
These factors don’t just benefit students. By
partnering with developers to create new
campuses, tertiary institutes are building
brand profile and equity, releasing working
capital for other uses, lowering ongoing
operating costs and improving connections
to business and industry.
Charter Hall’s partnership with Western
Sydney University (WSU) is an example
of this collaboration, which first came
together at 1 Parramatta Square in the
heart of Sydney’s fast growing ‘second
CBD’. This vertical campus has since
become a showpiece for the successful
integration of commercial, education
and retail use in a seamlessly connected,
technology-rich building.
Around the corner, Charter Hall, WSU
and the University of New South Wales
are also partnering to deliver 6 Hassall
Street, another vertical mixed-use campus
that will house a unique, multiversity
collaboration between WSU and UNSW’s
engineering school, as well as WSU’s school
of architecture. It’s due for completion in
2021 and will see an Engineering Innovation
Hub brought to life on the lower floors.
EVOLVING THE TRADITIONAL
EDUCATION MODEL
While universities have traditionally used
their own land holdings to develop,
own and operate their education
facilities, this model can require intensive
capital investment, intensive university
management resources and has often
proved inefficient and expensive in
meeting the changing needs of students
and institutions.
The 1 Parramatta Square property instead
uses what we call a capital light model,
where the site is developed and owned by
Charter Hall, while WSU holds a long-term
lease structure with options providing the
university with security of tenure.
This structure also offers the opportunity
for the university to partner with industry
through sub-letting of space, which WSU
has done with PricewaterhouseCoopers
and WaterNSW, which in turn provides an
additional revenue stream for the university.
The benefits of this model include:
∞ co-locating with industry, giving students
access to commercial partners
∞ project delivery at very competitive
commercial rates
∞ security of tenure for over 40 years
∞ reduced ongoing operating costs
compared to traditional suburban
campuses
∞ improved brand equity.
At 6 Hassall Street, Charter Hall acts as
development manager on behalf of a joint
venture model, while the university – as an
equal decision maker – receives an equal
share of any development profits and end
ownership of the asset.
This ‘partnership delivery’ model is also
being used with WSU through the new
mixed-use education and commercial office
development on existing WSU landholding
that we are collectively undertaking at
the Innovation Quarter, Westmead. The
additional benefits of this model include:
∞ WSU maintains ultimate land ownership
∞ security of tenure for WSU tenant for over
40 years
∞ an equity-light fit out solution
∞ provision for university tenancy to be
flexible with contract
∞ the property will be convertible back to
traditional A-grade offices for future use.
As these benefits show, alternative models
like this prove beneficial for both universities
and the private sector, with lower upfront
investment for universities freeing up capital
for them to reinvest into core business.
Collaboration is key to the success of
these models, and we’re already seeing
the potential of this shared value come
to fruition. For example, Charter Hall is
supporting projects like WSU’s entry into
the World Solar Challenge later this year
– an engineering event that sees teams of
students build a solar-powered vehicle and
drive it 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide,
as well as many other partnerships and
collaborations across the businesses.
With that in mind, it’s clear the game has
changed a lot for the tertiary landscape. As
we continue to learn more about changing
student needs and how institutions can
cater to these, the ‘campus of the future’
remains an evolving, exciting proposition. ■
Andrew Borger is head of office
development, Charter Hall.