Work at the USC Moreton Bay campus has ramped up with the 2020 opening looming

Work at the southeast Queensland’s newest university campus has ramped up a notch with a little over a year remaining until the foundation building takes in its first students. here’s how the site is shaping up.

Cranes at the USC Moreton Bay foundation building construction site.

WORK at the USC Moreton Bay campus has ramped up a notch with a little over a year remaining until the foundation building takes in its first students.

Construction on the project began in September last year and is expected to be opened for first semester in 2020.

The three-storey foundation building is being constructed by commercial builder Hansen Yuncken.

DRONE FOOTAGE OF THE USC MORETON BAY SITE

USC chief operating officer Dr Scott Snyder said there were currently 90 workers on site, including concreters, crane operators, earth movers, electricians, form workers, plumbers, scaffolders and water proofers.

An aerial view of what the university campus will look like at Petrie.

“The two-tower crane set-up is to meet the construction program for the building and gives Hansen Yuncken the ability to work in multiple areas of the site simultaneously,” he said.

The second crane recently arrived on site, servicing the southern end and will compliment the existing crane at the northern end.

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When complete, the foundation building will have 16,000 sqm of floor space and include laboratories, simulation spaces and a large open auditorium.

It has been designed to cater for rapid growth of the student population over the campus’s first three years.

The first intake of students, expected to be as many as 1200, will have a choice of almost 50 study programs including business, education and computer science.

USC Moreton Bay Campus at Petrie.

Funding for the USC Moreton Bay building was secured in 2017 through a $121 million loan from the Federal Government.

Though the project almost didn’t happen and USC were about to walk away when the government announced a funding freeze on university undergraduate placements.

However, USC was able to secure a $70 million commitment from the government to secure $69.4 million over three years for student placements at the campus.

The funding would provide for 1200 student bachelor places when the new campus opens in 2020, then 2400 bachelor places in 2021.

USC Moreton Bay campus foundation building. Artist’s impression of the large amphitheatre inside the foundation building that will be used for community events. Picture: Hassell Studio

There would also be funding for 3600 ongoing places from 2022.

The government also provided a $35 million grant for the project on top of the $121 million loan.

Federal Labor last June also promised $50 million to build a seven-storey “super lab” on the campus, as well as matching the federal government’s funding for student placements.

Supplied artist impression of the $50 million, seven-storey "super lab" proposed for USC Moreton Bay

The campus, which will become the centrepiece of Moreton Bay Regional Council’s Mill at Moreton Bay precinct, is expected to reach a student population of 10,000 by 2030.

The felling of trees at the site near the train station and along Anzac Ave has had a mixed reaction from residents, some of who preferred the site to remain undeveloped.

The council said it was working with koala monitoring experts on the site.

“During the recent vegetation removal and prior to commencement of construction works, the koala monitoring team worked with the appointed fauna spotter catchers to identify species requiring relocation,” a council spokesman said.

USC Moreton Bay Commencement Ceremony on the site of the foundation building on July 4 2018. Federal LNP MP for Petrie Luke Howarth, Moreton Bay Mayor Allan Sutherland and USC vice chancellor Professor Greg Hill sign the university development agreement. Picture: David Alexander

“This work was undertaken by visual inspection, including the use of an elevated work platform to inspect hollows.

“The koala monitoring team continued to monitor the koalas during the clearing with no koalas being within the site during vegetation clearing activities.”

The council said that as part of the revegetation works, weed trees and pine trees in the bushland areas would be removed and replacement with native koala habitat trees.