By Imogen Crispe
The Auckland University Students Association (AUSA) president says although the university's new hall of residence addresses a real need, it is no cheaper than other CBD accommodation.
The new residence, University Hall on Whitaker Place, opens this afternoon and caters for 442 University of Auckland students.
AUSA president Arena Williams says it is needed as there is limited student accommodation in the city.
“It’s great to see the University taking steps to help students live closer to where they study.”
However Ms Williams says the price - $330 a week to live in the new hall - is "steep for rent and expenses”.
She says the pricing isn't out of line with "unmanageable" prices in Auckland's CBD, an ongoing issue for students.
“It’s really expensive, [but] it’s not a lot more than what a lot of students are paying.”
She hopes it will help ease rental prices in the inner-city, as non-university managed accommodation usually used by first-year students is freed up.
The criteria for selection is also a concern, Ms Williams says.
"We'd like see more equitable rules about who gets priority to live here. There should be a preference for the most vulnerable students who struggle to find suitable accommodation for the academic year, rather than top high school scholars and sports-people."
The new hall has proved very popular, with 900 people applying for 442 places.
The hall will boost fully catered accommodation at the university by 60 percent as the fifth and largest hall of residence.
University of Auckland director of campus life Brendan Mosely says there was a great need for a new hall, as the University last built a hall in 1990 and has grown a lot since then.
“We have a lot of demand for accommodation on campus. The university has grown quite significantly over the last decades.”
Huia Residence became university accommodation in 2008 to help alleviate the demand, but Mr Mosely says the existing halls already received more applications than they had space.
“[The new hall] is meeting some of that demand.”
It costs students $12,740 per academic year to live at the hall, which includes breakfast lunch and dinner and 24-hour staff. This is the same price as the other halls of residence.
The building took just 18 months to build and facilities include a wireless e-library, study pods, kitchens, a lounge with a large television screen, and a games room.
All windows in residents’ rooms will have special glass to blot out traffic noise from the nearby motorway.
The residents are all first-year students and come from all over the country, and 15 percent are international students from Britain, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.
Half of one floor is reserved as female only and two floors will be alcohol-free.
Sunday to Wednesday will be non-drinking days throughout the hall.
The hall officially opens at 5pm today and students move in on Sunday.
3 News