After being sold at an auction in late 2019 for R88 million, the old Summerstrand Hotel, a Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) landmark, is being converted into a 500-bed residence for students at Nelson Mandela University (NMU).
The conversion aims at addressing the housing shortage at the university and the residence is due to open this month.
“NMU has 29 000 students, but only 3 299 beds in university-owned residences. This means that they can only accommodate 12% of students on campus. To meet the demand for housing, the university has adopted a private student accommodation policy,” director of student accommodation group, STAG African, John Schooling, said.
“Unfortunately, most of the existing accredited private accommodation is located far away from the main campus, which contributes to increased transport costs and travel time.”
The Summerstrand Student Village is a 600m walk from NMU’s main campus and amenities include self-catering cooking facilities, laundry facilities, Wi-Fi, a swimming pool and a student centre for social events.
For more info send a message to info@stagafrican.com.
