Hundreds more university students are set to move into central Geelong after the official opening of a new $50 million apartment building today.
About 160 students had already moved into the 11-storey Brougham Street building for this year’s first trimester and the rest would arrive before the third, Deakin University said.
Brougham House would eventually accommodate 410 students, Deakin said.
The building gives occupants a view over Geelong’s waterfront, although plans for a convention centre on an adjacent university car park could eventually obscure their view.
Brougham House is the university’s second student accommodation development in central Geelong, with the university also housing 33 students in a refurbished T&G building on the corner of Moorabool and Ryrie streets.
Deakin said vice-chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander would officially open the Brougham street building on Friday morning.
The apartments herald a new boom in central Geelong’s residential numbers, with two high-rise apartment projects under construction and more on the way.
Work has started on a 21-story Miramar development in Cavendish Street, while more residents will pile into The Mercer’s 15 storeys upon completion.
Both developments sold most apartments off-the-plan, with industry sources suggesting that investors represented a high proportion of the buyers.
Apartment living has flourished along Geelong’s waterfront area and on nearby former commercial sites in recent years after the limited success of a push for shop-top living in the central business district.
