Legal and General(L&G), the funding and development partner for Oxford University had entered into a fifty-fifty partnership to build residences for students and staff. The value of this partnership is four billion pounds and L&G’s Future Cities Business will provide the fund.
In addition to residential properties, this project will also develop “innovation districts” with contemporary workspaces. The timeline for executing the project is ten years.
As with any fast developing cities, Oxfordshire has been facing the problems of rapid urban growth. The town which is renowned for its University has a population of more than one hundred and fifty thousand people. Being one of the world’s leading technology clusters, it is imperative that the city provides affordable housing facilities to attract young research talent.
While announcing the partnership, Professor Lousie Richardson, Vice- Chancellor of the University said,
“My colleagues and I are delighted to have formed this partnership with Legal & General. We look forward to working together to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the University today. We will build much-needed graduate accommodation, subsidized housing for University staff, and new science parks, where academic departments, University spin-outs, and commercial partners can work together to create new companies as well as high-quality jobs.”
The homes for junior academic staff will be built near the village of Begbroke. The rents will be twenty percent lower than the market rate.
The second housing project which will come up near Osney Mead industrial estate will be for the student body with rents ranging from four hundred and fifty pounds a month to Six hundred and seventy-five pounds.
The ownership of the land will remain with the University. They will issue sixty year leases to L&G who will recuperate the investment from rent and later hand over the property to University.
Oxford University Partners with L&G to Build Housing Facilities for £4 Billion
