Everything you need to know about UTAS’ move to the city

The University of Tasmania is adamant it’s not taking over the city, after its draft relocation plan was released. Now, the uni has exclusively answered 20 questions from Mercury readers. SEE THEIR ANSWERS >>

• UTAS masterplan reveals move from Sandy Bay into the city
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The University of Tasmania is adamant it is not taking over Hobart, after the draft plan for its relocation from Sandy Bay to the CBD was released on Monday.

The university was quick to defend the proposal and said the plan was not for a takeover but instead to contribute to the CBD.

“We listened to what people love about Hobart and our draft masterplan attempts to preserve and enhance those things,” a university spokesperson said.

The plan was released on Monday but left many readers of the Mercury with burning questions.

To address community concerns, The Mercury posed 20 questions to the University of Tasmania on its draft plan.

Here’s what the university had to say.

Q: You are very well-placed in Sandy Bay, why do you want to take over the city?

A: We do not want to take over the city but contribute to it. We listened to what people love about Hobart and our draft masterplan attempts to preserve and enhance those things. We want people’s feedback about whether we’ve captured those things well.

Already nearly 40% of staff and students are in the city. Our Sandy Bay campus has real challenges. They are the most aged higher education buildings in Australia and New Zealand, they have a utilisation rate of less than 20% because they were designed for a very different era. The campus has major disability access issues and extremely poor environmental performance.

Having a campus in the city will also make the university more accessible to people from outer areas. Students currently have to take multiple trips to reach Sandy Bay in a transport system which is not always joined up. A single bus connection to the CBD will eliminate that frustration and we will support more enhancements in the system such as tracking technology, more frequent services and improved routes. 

Q: How much taxpayer money is being used for this move?

A: We are not seeking any government funds for our future southern campus. As a public university, it is important we are sustainable and able to deliver our high-quality teaching and research while maintaining and investing in the infrastructure and facilities that makes this work possible. Thanks to the contribution of a great many people our University is in a strong financial position and is well placed to get under way.

University of Tasmania relocation into Hobart's CBD. Artist's impression of the new mid-town precinct.

Q: Can the university actually afford this move?

A: Yes, we can. Even before COVID arrived we changed our strategy to become long-term financially sustainable and not dependent on international students. We are therefore able to afford this move by tackling this project over 10 years and funding it through a combination of some borrowing at very low interest rates, realising value from Sandy Bay through owning and developing it, and the normal contribution universities make to infrastructure. 

The University has for many years been strengthening its financial position including building an investment portfolio of $400 million, which provides high levels of security in undertaking this decade-long plan.

Q: It’s obviously a costly move, how does the University plan to make a return on this?

A: The University is a public institution and we don’t make a return in the way a private company seeks to. Our objective is to provide facilities that enable us to sustainably deliver the higher education and research that Tasmania needs over the long-run. This investment will allow us to do that.

These new facilities in the CBD will be far more efficient to operate and maintain in the longer term than the inefficient and aged infrastructure at Sandy Bay.

Q: How has losing international students affected this plan?

A: An extended period of restricted travel is something we planned for when COVID-19 first emerged, and we are well placed to withstand the challenges it presents.

International students are still choosing to study with us; close to 1000 students have enrolled this year and are commencing their studies online. We are confident that international students will return when borders open. 

Our strategy even before COVID-19 has been to focus on growing the number of Tasmanian and interstate students studying with us and a reduced number of international students.

Q: With many courses moving online, is it even worth it?

A: We are a university that is about educating people in person, in place. COVID-19 has been a challenging, but ultimately temporary, disruption and this year we returned to in-person learning, on-campus and in the field. 

In person learning will always be at the heart of what we do even when we use online to help create equitable access to higher education.

University of Tasmania relocation into Hobart's CBD. Artist's impression of Hunter St revamp

Q: Isn’t Hobart too small to have such a large development take over the city?

A: We aren’t seeking to take over the city. We know people love Hobart and its special qualities. We want to enhance those qualities by bringing green spaces into the CBD, preserving the views to the mountain and the river and creating buildings that integrate with the human scale of the city.

We already have the buildings or sites required for the future campus. Almost all the new work will occur on one city street – Melville Street – along with some very heritage sensitive work on the Domain. The development of these will occur in a staged way over a decade.

The design principles, strategies, and draft masterplan have been built on what people told us was important about Hobart. We want peoples’ feedback on those.

Q: Is the Uni under State Government control at all? Does the State Government

have a say in this?

A: We work very closely with government and it has provided valued contributions to not just these plans, but also our campuses in the North and North-West of the State. We will continue in conversation with all levels of government and the community, recognising that this is an opportunity to work on a future together not just for our cities, but Tasmania as a whole.

Q: Why weren’t students and staff consulted or offered to give feedback on the plans?

A: This draft plan has come from consultation with staff, students and the community, which mostly occurred before COVID-19 caused us to pause. We received substantial feedback in the process of determining whether we moved to the city and then held a major multi day summit where community, staff and students came together to share their thinking. We have provided a summary of all that feedback.

We heard what people love about the city, the concerns they have, and what we have gotten wrong in the past. This plan contains our ideas about how to respond to and address these hopes and concerns.

This draft provides the opportunity for further important feedback and we are keen to hear it. 

Public displays are available at both Sandy Bay and the City where feedback can continue to be provided in person. Additionally, feedback can be provided via our website at any time.

Feedback can be provided directly by email to [e-mail].

UTAS CBD vision

Q: A court ruling prevented the university from subdividing and selling off some of its Sandy Bay campus last year. What makes you confident the new plans for the campus will be allowed?

A: What the court required of us was to have a strong masterplan for Sandy Bay. That is something we will be working to do this year. In coming months, we will announce master planners for Sandy Bay and we will consult with the community about the future development of our Sandy Bay campus as a sustainable mixed-use precinct.

We will not be selling off Sandy Bay. We will retain ownership and remain stewards for the long-term, ensuring it is developed in ways that benefit the Tasmanian community.

Q: What will happen to the current buildings on the Sandy Bay campus? Will the plans build on existing structures or will it be knocked down?

A: The master planning process will help shape the future of the Sandy Bay campus, including the ways existing buildings are used and developed. Environmentally important bushland will be protected, sporting facilities on the lower part of the campus will be kept and upgraded for the university and the community, and student accommodation will be retained.

Over the long-term, Sandy Bay can be sensitively developed as a world-leading example of a sustainable mixed-use precinct that will provide a range of housing options, including affordable housing, along with commercial, educational and other services.

Q: Is this a done deal?

A: In April 2019, the University made the decision to move to an inner-city campus, bringing our southern students and staff together in Hobart.

We have begun the conversation this week about how we do that in a way that enhances and protects the things that people love and value about Hobart. We want people to engage with the ideas we have put forward, give us feedback, and continue to guide our next steps.

Help us shape your university and the future of the city we share.

Q: What’s next in the process to make this happen?

A: We want to hear what people think about the principles, strategies and draft masterplan we have put forward.

Then things move in three stages: immediate activation is underway through things like using the old K&D site as a sporting facility and working with council on streetscapes; restoration and refurbishment of existing buildings such as those on the Domain and the Forestry building will follow; and finally, the design and development of new buildings. This is a decade long process which will take us through until 2030 at least.

UTAS CBD vision

Q: Is this just copying the northern plan to move the Newnham campus to the Launceston CBD?

A: We are investing in our campuses and our communities in the North-West, the North and the South. In each case, we are working to ensure we support student and staff experience, are making higher education accessible to more Tasmanians and bringing social and economic benefits to the communities we are part of.

Q: Will this move push out shops from Hobart’s CBD?

A: No. We want to bring vibrancy, activity and life to the CBD and create more opportunities for small business and entrepreneurs. A key part of our proposed masterplan is a range of mixed-use and retail spaces along street frontages in the university development. The staff and students that move from Sandy Bay to the city over the next decade will contribute to the economic vibrancy of the surrounding businesses.

At every stage, we will be working to make sure that the impact we have is a positive one.

K&D was closing down, Forestry was a vacant building, Freedom Furniture had indicated it would not renew its lease, the Webster’s site contains a long-empty building and on-grade carparking. The development of the future campus will bring life and energy to these sites.

Q: Has student carparking been included in this plan?

A: Parking is part of our planning at both the West End and Mid-town sites, as well as park-and-ride facilities at Sandy Bay, shuttle buses between campuses, end-of-trip bike facilities, and flexible, bookable commuter parking.

We will also support and advocate for public transport improvements. The University community accounts for just 1% of Hobart’s traffic but we know there are things that can be done at the community level that will have a huge positive impact on traffic. 

We will work to advocate for and support a northern suburbs rapid transport corridor, better pedestrian and bike infrastructure on the Tasman Bridge and a Derwent River ferry service.    

UTAS CBD vision

Q: Do you expect to run into problems with the council on this project?

A: We will work closely with all levels of government throughout this project. With strong design principles and strategies guiding the project over the next ten years, we are confident that we can deliver a modern, distinctive campus that works for our students and staff, and the community.

Q: Who is leading this plan?

A: This is a University of Tasmania plan that we aim to deliver over the next 10 years, and we have a strong team leading that work. Ultimately though the work will be guided by the needs of our community – both staff and students – and also the wider community.

Q: Is the university using money from teaching pay cuts to pay for this?

A: We are using a combination of low interest loans, realising value from Sandy Bay and the normal yearly investments universities make to maintain their infrastructure to fund this plan. Universities must be able to sustainably deliver our core mission of teaching and research while maintaining and investing in the facilities and campuses that make that work possible.

We have worked hard to ensure that we are right-sized and sustainable for the long-term.

Through the hard work of many people in the University we achieved that in face of the challenges of last year.

Q: Why is this money not being spent on education and the continuation of existing departments of education in the university as it now stands?

A: This project will be funded in a number of ways, including finance at historically low interest rates. This is not funding that is available for operational expenses. 

If we are going to be long-term sustainable, we need to be able to deliver education and research, and invest in the physical fabric of the University. Historically we have not achieved that, but now we are in a position to do so.