We are now excited to announce that construction has begun on The University’s Regiment Redevelopment Project. The site is located on the south-west portion of the Darlington Campus, at the corner of City Road and Darlington Road. The new building will create a high-quality gateway that will mark the entrance to the University campus and will provide a holistic student campus living and learning experience, comprising approximately 15,000 square metres for student accommodation and teaching.
The new building is strategically located to enjoy the cultural and social spoils that the Darlington and Newtown areas have to offer. For those who live on campus, the Australian undergraduate student experience has evolved beyond attending lecture theatres and tutorials. The University has grown into an immersive setting for meeting friends or social groups and attending local cafes, restaurants, parks and gyms. Beyond this, the redevelopment includes improving pedestrian accessibility through a publicly accessible pathway that runs through the site, and enhancing the landscape in the area to provide attractive external spaces to meet and gather.
In late 2017, after demolition of the old Regiment Building and prior to construction on the new building, a moving smoking ceremony was held to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and to cleanse the site.
From humble beginnings, the old Regiment Building was known for its associations with the Sydney University Regiment (SUR) that traces its lineage back to 1900 when a University Volunteer Rifle Corps (UVRC) was raised as a unit of the New South Wales Defence Force. While not steeped in a rich architectural history, the old building’s connection to security and belonging will be reinvigorated in the new building, which provides a safe environment for teaching, learning and socialising.
The redevelopment will have over 600 single-dorm-style bedrooms, two 2-bedroom apartments, learning hubs, a theatre, teaching rooms, maker spaces, incubator spaces, and bathroom and kitchen facilities. The building will have everything a student needs to live and succeed at an affordable price.
The University of Sydney’s goal is to establish a world-class range of educational facilities for teaching, learning and research and to deliver affordable student accommodation beds, which students can rent at (at least) 25 per cent below local market rates. This project will assist our affordable housing vision.
This redevelopment will help instil a sense of belonging, social integration, and engagement with study and broader life on and around campus for our students, all factors that help ensure our students can thrive and have an exceptional University experience. We know that the community of Darlington and Newtown will provide excellent exposure to new people and ideas and is an area that recognises, values and celebrates cultural diversity. We are sure that our students will love living here in this neighbourhood.
We thank the community in advance for welcoming our new residents from 2019.
