DCU has applied to build 214 new student residency clusters on its Glasnevin Campus as reported by The Independent earlier this month.
DCU applied through An Bord Pleanála’s fast-tracking process under the Strategic Housing Development system which allows for student accommodation containing two hundred or more bed spaces to receive an accelerated decision. DCU expects the decision to be made on the application by June, according to The Independent.
The building of more student accommodation is part of DCU’s Campus Development Plan which was first launched back in April 2016. Through the plan DCU aims to conduct a buy-back of current campus accommodation and build a further 560 student residences for on-campus living. This would allow for DCU campuses to facilitate up to 2,200 students in on-campus accommodation.
The 214 apartments will be a big step up from Glasnevin’s current on-campus accommodation of Larkfield which has 125 units, Hampstead which has 61 units and College Park which has 60 units. Larkfield is exclusively for first-year students while College Park is exclusively for current undergraduate students and Hampstead is a mix of both.
DCU had 17 thousand students across its Glasnevin, St. Patrick’s College, and All Hallows campuses as of 2018. It currently offers 1,400 rooms for the total population of undergraduate and postgraduate students.
President of DCU Professor Brian MacCraith told The College View last year that the college’s student population had grown by over “50 per cent in five years” which increased the need to prioritise student accommodation.
Uninest, a student accommodation provider, has been buying up a number of locations on Dublin’s northside since 2014 which offer competitive weekly rates to DCU’s on campus accommodation.
Glasnevin accommodation rent starts from €236 to €272 a week. Uninest’s closest accommodation to DCU starts from €180 per week.