3 October 2017 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
An Interserve-led consortium has been selected for an £85 million project by Durham University to finance, design, build and operate two new colleges in the city of Durham.
The consortium, composed of Interserve, fund and asset management firm Equitix, and on-campus student accommodation developer and operator Campus Living Villages UK (CLV), will finance, build, and operate the two new facilities for up to 50 years.
Interserve's construction division will design and build the two new residential facilities, which will have up to 1,000 student bed spaces, plus associated academic and social college spaces on a university-owned area of land to the south of the city.
Interserve will also design and build a university hub building on the same site, comprising student facilities and administrative space.
Debbie White, Interserve's chief executive, said: "Interserve has an extensive portfolio of student accommodation projects, which demonstrates the strength and capability of our teams working in partnership with clients in the further education sector. We look forward to building on our 15-year relationship with Durham University by starting work on this exciting project, following the opening of the Interserve-built Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics in March. At Interserve, we are committed to investing in the communities in which we work and we will be continuing to engage with local suppliers as well as creating local job opportunities."
Facilities management services will be provided by CLV, while tenancy management, academic and pastoral activities will remain the responsibility of the university.
Space will be provided for John Snow College, which is relocating from the university's Queen's Campus in Stockton-on-Tees, and a new 17th college.