Quarantine hub among alternative uses for Student One buildings devastated by pandemic

Student accommodation buildings with a “catastrophic” drop in occupancy due to the pandemic could be used as quarantine facilities, as council considers an application to allow non-students.

Student accommodation buildings with a “catastrophic” drop in occupancy could be used as quarantine facilities if Brisbane City Council approves an application to allow non-students.

Student One applied to the council this month to allow non-students to reside at its Elizabeth St, Adelaide St and Wharf St sites until January 31, 2024.

CEO Tim Weston said it had been a stressful 18 months for student accommodation providers whose hopes of revitalising Brisbane’s inner-city suburbs were shattered by the pandemic.

“It’s been catastrophic and we’re not just talking about the impact of losing international students,” Mr Weston said.

“With many university courses going online, domestic students haven’t had the need to come to the city either.”

Student One on Wharf Street in Brisbane CBD. Picture: AAP/David Clark

A quarantine facility for international students was among a list of alternative opportunities for the buildings which were the subject of minor change applications.

Urbis Director Ashley Lane sent letters to the council, on behalf of Student One, stating the buildings could also be used for secondary school groups, sporting groups, religious and cultural groups and corporate training accommodation.

Mr Weston clarified that if there was an opportunity to work with government bodies to quarantine incoming travellers, the buildings would be dedicated to that purpose only.

“Our main focus with this application is being allowed to welcome people who have recently graduated from universities,” he said.

The bid to temporarily lift a current condition of approval, restricting Student One to off-site student accommodation, came after its occupancy plummeted.

The Elizabeth St accommodation was at 46.6 per cent occupancy and had been open for less than a year when Covid-19 arrived in early 2020.

Urbis claimed forward bookings indicated occupancy was likely to move above 75 per cent.

“From February and March 2020 when borders began to close, Student One saw a catastrophic drop in occupancy,” the letter from Mr Lane stated.

“It is anticipated that there will be further declines throughout 2021, with occupancy at Adelaide Street expected to drop below 10 per cent and Elizabeth Street below 20 per cent.”

Cr Krista Adams. Picture: Attila Csaszar

Mr Lane also stated that a meeting was held in May with council officers who were supportive of transforming Elizabeth Arcade with dining that spilt into the public space, to attract more foot traffic.

Student One’s request came as a similar application from The Scape Group, to allow non-students at three of its towers, was met with outrage.

The proposal for the South Brisbane sites sparked fierce opposition from Greens councillor Jonathan Sri as well as locals, with more than 30 submissions against the application.

Cr Sri said Scape should have to repay infrastructure charges that were waived because the developer was providing student-only accommodation.

Mr Weston confirmed Student One was also restricted to the use of off-site student accommodation due to incentives on infrastructure charges available at the time of its original development application.

He said the incentives were disproportionate to the loss experienced during the pandemic when Student One tried dropping its prices and continued to pay full land tax.

City Planning Chair Krista Adams said Cr Sri’s calls for student accommodation providers to pay extra infrastructure charges was senseless, highlighting the proposals were for a temporary change before reverting back to their original use.

“Student accommodation providers in Brisbane have been significantly impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic,” Cr Adams said.

“These businesses are looking at short-term solutions to manage the impacts of COVID-19 so they can survive while our international border remains closed.

“Council is prepared to work with these businesses as they try to adapt temporarily in this environment.”

All applications for change are assessed by the council’s independent planning officers.