A Dubai student accommodation giant has been cleared to build a major Dublin complex

DEVELOPERS HAVE BEEN given the go-ahead to build a 571-bed student accommodation complex in Dublin city.

An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for the development at Brunswick St in Dublin 7.

All the rooms in the project will be en-suite with retail space at street level and a supermarket also on-site.

The new development is being built by the Dubai-based Global Student Accommodation (GSA) Group and is supported by Ulster Bank.

GSA is already involved with a number of other student developments in the capital and the company said that two of those projects will be completed next year.

These include a 400-bedroom development at Mill Street in Dublin 8 and the 491-bedroom Kavanagh Court in Gardiner Street.

Another GSA-backed refurbishment project at Broadstone Hall in the north inner city has been completed and is now fully occupied for the current college year.

Commitment

The company’s Dublin development director, Aaron Bailey, said GSA was committed to investing €250 million in accommodation in Ireland over the next five years.

“We are delighted to be bringing this best-in-class expertise to key strategic locations in Dublin such as Brunswick Street. This latest approval signals real progress in our long-term plans for investment in Dublin,” Bailey says.

It’s estimated that there are 80,000 full-time students in Dublin’s nine third-level institutions, with a further 100,000 students coming to the city each year to learn English.

However the demand for student accommodation has outstripped supply amid a wider shortage of properties in the rental sector.

Other major student accommodation providers, such as UK firm Ziggurat, have also announced plans to complete major new developments in Dublin and other Irish cities.

Written by Rónán Duffy and posted on TheJournal.ie. Additional reporting Peter Bodkin.