Student accommodation provider Uninest has opened a new block of 296 residences in Dublin 8. Located adjacent to Uninest’s New Mill complex in the Liberties area of Dublin, the new development is called The Tannery.

The Tannery provides students with on-site laundry facilities, a cinema room, arcade room, high-speed broadband, study areas and utility bills included in the overall price.

But accommodation isn’t cheap for traditionally cash-poor students in Uninest’s New Mill and Tannery complexes, which house 700 beds between them. Prices start at €255 per week for a standard en-suite room on a 51-week contract.

Additional room options include a deluxe en-suite for €294 per week, while the deluxe studio option – “with a separated sleeping and living area to give the feel of a large one-bedroom apartment” – costs €380 per week.

According to Uninest’s website, all of the higher-end accommodation options, including the penthouse rooms and deluxe studios, are sold out in both its New Mill and Tannery complexes.

In Association with

The Uninest brand is part of Global Student Accommodation Group, a UK venture that has student accommodation developments in eight countries.

Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking provided Uninest with funding to develop the Liberties developments. The New Mill complex opened in summer 2017.

Bowling Alley

Uninest also operates student accommodation in Grangegorman, which is due to officially launch in September. The Ardcairn House development comprises 571 en-suite bedrooms, as well as an onsite gym and bowling alley.

Uninest also operates student accommodation in Phibsborough and on Gardiner Street. A 190-bed student accommodation development in Cork city is also due to officially launch in September. Rental costs range from €210 to €225 per week and all of the units have been rented.

Aaron Baily, GSA’s development director for the UK and Ireland, said that there is continued demand for high-quality purpose-built student accommodation in Ireland.

“Since entering the market three years ago we’ve been fully committed to Ireland and have created in excess of 40 permanent jobs in our residences and over 1,000 jobs during construction,” Baily added. “Earlier this year, we announced a €200 million transaction with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital to deliver further developments in the capital.”

The expansion of so-called ‘luxury’ student accommodation in the capital is not being met with universal approval. Members of the student union in DCU recently joined with the Union of Students in Ireland and Inner City Helping Homeless to protest outside Uninest’s New Mill residence.

Craig McHugh, vice president of education and placement in DCU, reportedly described Uninest’s developments as being more like luxury hotels than student housing. He also maintained that the luxury student pads were aimed at rich parents and were pushing market prices up further.

Photo: Aaron Baily (right) with Paul McDonnell, Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking