| This was made clear by the university today as work continued to transfer property from the old students’ union in Marketgait to the striking new building at the heart of the city centre campus.
The glass-fronted structure, sharing many of the features of the university’s award-winning library directly opposite, boasts a nightclub, a sports bar, a gym and fitness suite, offices and seminar and conference rooms.
The students’ centre is due to be declared open by university principal Bernard King on Monday, but will have its formal opening after the summer when students arrive for the next academic session.
The building clearly represents a major investment by the university and — one might also think — a commitment to the city.
Despite the development, the university is still carrying out a long-term strategic review of its estate, and in particular whether it should stay in Dundee or move to Perth or Kirkcaldy.
The review was prompted by the university’s failure to win planning permission from the city council late last year for its £18 million, 500-bed accommodation block for students in Parker Street, a short walk from Bell Street.
Professor Nicholas Terry, the deputy principal in charge of the Parker Street proposal, said the council’s decision forced the university to re-examine how — and where — it saw its future.
The university has held discussions with public bodies in Perth and Fife into the possibility of moving to one of these places, and Professor Terry even said that should the university conclude its best interests were served by leaving Dundee, he had “every confidence the university would have the courage to take that decision”.
Asked today if the move to the new students’ centre had reduced or even removed the possibility of Abertay leaving the city which had been its home for over a century, a spokesman for the university said it had no bearing on the deliberations into its future location.
He said, “The strategic development review is taking a long-term look at how we might develop in years to come — and this might be 10 or 20 years down the line. The need for a students’ centre is an immediate and present one. We are delighted to be in a position to be moving into a brand new building which our students are very much looking forward to using.”
Meanwhile, Abertay is still in discussion with the city council about sites for students’ accommodation in the city.
One possibility is that the Parker Street plan might be revived with a lower density of student flats and another central site being found for the balance needed to make up the number that would have been provided by the original Parker Street proposal. |
