New residential wing for Aquinas College approved

The construction of a new $18.4million wing at the University of Otago’s Aquinas College was approved by the university council yesterday.

The extension includes the construction of a new 66-bed wing and enhanced dining facilities at the college, which is in Gladstone Rd, Dalmore, Dunedin.

Acting vice-chancellor Prof Helen Nicholson said the university was forecasting an increase in the number of first year students and a respective rise in the demand for residential college beds in Dunedin over the next seven years.

Construction work will be awarded under a closed tender system. It was anticipated that designs would be finalised next month, and demolition of the old gym will begin shortly after that.

The new wing should be ready for its first intake of students in February 2023.