CQU: Entsch, LNP make $50m election commitment for Cairns university campus
A dormant mega-development could be spurred back to life after a $50m bipartisan promise to build a new university campus on its doorstep.
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UPDATE: A DORMANT mega-development could be spurred back to life after a $50m bipartisan promise to build a new university campus on its doorstep.
The Coalition and Labor have both now committed to the new CQUniversity campus in the Cairns CBD, guaranteeing it will be funded no matter where the chips fall on May 21.
Its location on a former post office site at the corner of Hartley and Grafton streets is expected to trigger plenty of new development in the surrounding area.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch suggested the seven-tower $550m apartment project Nova City – put on the backburner late last year – may have a renaissance.
“You are going to see student accommodation, apartments going up all around this campus,” he said.
“And stalled projects, I suspect this is going to be a catalyst to start again.
“We look at the Nova project … that is now going to be a catalyst.
“We’re going to have 4000 students, many of those are going to be international students attracted to this area.
“They need to stay somewhere.
“That would more than fill those towers and others that will come with it.”
Singaporean development company Aspial wrote to pre-sale buyers in October to say their new apartments would not be built.
“Our intention has always been to raise the bar and deliver a high quality project that Cairns could be very proud of,” its correspondence said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted many facets of development, driving up material costs and impacting both timelines and budgets.
“After much careful deliberation, we must painfully acknowledge that our original vision is no longer feasible at this current point in time.”
That open-ended conclusion has buoyed hopes that the project may simply be in hibernation, rather than the late stages of post-mortem decomposition.
The company still owns the 2.4ha Spence St property it bought for about $18m, as well as an $8.05m neighbouring block, and has not put either on the open market.
CQU’s big move also means it will vacate its current home at the corner of Abbott and Spence streets, as well as two other leased buildings in Cairns.
The Abbott St building owner is reportedly already looking at options for the site – although the shift is not expected until June 2025.
CQU chancellor John Abbott did not know what kind of operation would replace the university.
“The owner of this building lives in Townsville,” he said.
“There were tenants in here before us and I’m presuming there will be tenants here after us.”
A final design and business case is expected to be ready for government approval within six months.
“That happening, construction will start pretty much straight away – design is already under way,” Mr Abbott said.
A spokesman from Aspial has been asked for comment.
EARLIER: An inner-city dead zone will be transformed into a bustling nerve centre with bipartisan commitments finally locked down for a new $50m university campus.
CQUniversity is now guaranteed funding to build its new CBD campus regardless of who wins the election.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will make a $50m pledge on Friday to carry out the project – the top announcement of his trip to the Far North.
“The Coalition Government is committed to supporting regional Australia and this campus will provide more local people with opportunities to further their education and bring those skills to the Far North … ” he said.
“Not only will the project attract more students and visitors to the region, it will create more than 330 jobs during construction, boosting the economy right now through more jobs and investment.”
The new campus will be built on a former post office site at the corner of Grafton and Hartley streets.
It will be a 9980sq m vertical university allowing CQU to double its student numbers in Cairns to more than 4000 by 2030.
The injection of thousands of students and more than 300 staff is expected to revive a section of the city that is in cardiac arrest.
CQU has been growing by more than 20 per cent year-on-year since making its first foray into Cairns.
It currently operates from four separate leased properties, which will be consolidated into the new purpose-built campus.
CQU vice chancellor Professor Nick Klomp said the project would be an enabler for further economic growth in the region.
“It will also generate more than $500m in economic activity for the region over its first decade of operation, the positive ripple effects of which will be felt across Far North Queensland,” he said.
Labor beat the Coalition to the punch by six months back in April when it made its $50m election promise.
However, Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch has long maintained the new campus was at the top of his infrastructure list.
“I have worked hard to deliver this initiative. Not only will it allow CQUniversity to grow and attract more students, it will create local jobs during construction and for the future,” he said.
The Coalition’s funding comes from the $2bn Regional Accelerator Program in the 2022-23 federal budget.
Regional Education Minister Bridget McKenzie said the campus would turbocharge the city.
“CQUniversity will be able to offer 23 new undergraduate and postgraduate courses as a result of this expansion – addressing the workforce and skill needs of Far North Queensland now and well into the future,” he said.
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