Students hyped for swanky new central square development

There are plans over the next three to five years for around one million sq ft of new office, residential and retail space to be built.

And now, the possibility of brand new student accommodation in the heart of Cardiff has got students pumped.

Oli, third year Politics students wishes he was back in first year.

He said: “I’d love to move there. My halls were never that snazzy.

“I can see myself now, ballin’ at the top of the world, well Wales.”

A spokesperson from the architects, Foster and Partners, said: “At this stage it is not concrete, but the space could well be used for student accommodation.

“Nothing to say just yet on timings and numbers it could house, therefore, but do keep an eye out for any announcements”.

Whilst students have plenty of options already open to them, student accommodation in the heart of Cardiff and just a short walk from the main campus may soon be seen as the most popular option available to many if the plans are followed through.

Rightacres Property are developing the project in partnership with Cardiff Council, and it could see the highest ever constructed building in Wales take form – with a 27 storey 92-metre high building.

Leader of the City of Cardiff Council, Phil Bale said “Central Square is the key gateway to Cardiff and the wider city region for many potential investors, residents and visitors, and so its role in providing a positive image for Cardiff and Wales cannot be underestimated.

“The council has worked closely with Rightacres and its design team to create a master plan that is reflective of the city’s ambition to be amongst the most ‘liveable’ cities in the world.”

Chief Executive of Rightacres Paul McCarthy said: “With Gerard’s great local knowledge and supported by his team of extremely talented architects Foster + Partners have come up with a fantastic plan.

“The aspiration is to create Cardiff’s premier business location that will attract indigenous businesses and inward investors to Cardiff.

“The new buildings will be set around a new square that is right in terms of scale and size and that will be capable of staging events such as food festivals and live street performances.

“The main challenge for the team was to demonstrate how the new square and streets leading to it would perform during a major event such as a rugby international.

“Once we knew we could handle 35,000 people exiting the southern gates of the Millennium Stadium in under twenty minutes we knew the area could handle 7,000 people per hour on a normal day at peak times.”

Central Square could see around 450 private residential units, new retail outlets and a 200-bedroom hotel, along with over 500,000 sq ft of new office space and student accommodation.

Rightacres, along with being locked in discussions with a number of leading private residential and student accommodation operators, is also in talks with a number of hotel chains.

The master plan has been a work in progress for the last 18 months, and has been overseen by one of the world’s most respected architectural firms, Foster + Partners, who have been responsible for the award winning Gherkin building in London and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Gerard Evenden, who was born in Cardiff and educated at Radyr Comprehensive and Cardiff School of Architecture, has been a central figure in the development of the vision for the project.