BAM wins contract for Dublin student accommodation

BAM Ireland has won the contract to build a 400-bed student accommodation block in the Liberties area of Dublin for Global Student Accommodation (GSA).

The €40 million project in the historic Tenters area of the city will provide accommodation for third-level students, having received approval from An Bord Pleanála last September.

Design, construction, and completion of the seven-storey Courtyard Block will be undertaken by BAM on a 2.5-acre brownfield site at Mill Street in Dublin 8.

The development will consist of 61 “cluster flats” across 12,500 sq metres of internal space and will be ready for occupation in the third quarter of 2017.

250,000 beds

Construction will support up to 350 jobs over that period and it will be operated by GSA on completion. GSA provides student accommodation across the world, and plans to have more than 250,000 beds under management by 2025.

BAM recently secured planning permission for a 202-bedroom hotel on a nearby site at the junction of Mill Street and Blackpitts. Construction of the €30 million hotel development is expected to commence in the second quarter of this year.

Commenting on its contract with GSA, Theo Cullinane, BAM Ireland chief executive, said: "We are very pleased to have concluded this agreement, which will contribute to the rejuvenation of this historic quarter of Dublin. While building activity has picked up recently, there is still a real shortage of student accommodation in Dublin," he said.