The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is continuing its sell-off of property in Hobart’s CBD, with the site that currently houses the Swisherr basketball centre the latest to go.
The move comes after the university recently sold two hotels in the city, including Fountainside to the state government, citing a decline in overseas student numbers.
The latest property to soon hit the market, Swisherr, is a 1.3-hectare site on Bathurst Street, which UTAS purchased for $30 million in 2019.
The university says the site is now surplus to requirements and will be sold in the coming months.
Both sales are part of UTAS’s bold plan to develop four campuses.
They include a STEM Campus at Sandy Bay featuring new buildings and the revitalisation of existing ones, a City Campus at the Forestry Building, Historic Campus at the university’s original home on the Domain and Waterfront Campus across both Salamanca and Taroona.
In an email to staff on Tuesday afternoon, Vice-Chancellor Professor Rufus Black said the plan was contingent on support from all levels of government.
“This is an urgent priority for the state because unless we get started in the next 12 to 18 months, Tasmania won’t have new STEM facilities until well into the 2030s, putting us decades behind the rest of the country,” he said.
“STEM facilities really matter when so many new jobs and the competitiveness of our existing industries are dependent on science and technology.”
“These facilities are urgently needed for students and staff, for the future of STEM education in Tasmania and for our state’s ability to meet workforce needs.”
“Developing a specialised campus at Sandy Bay provides opportunities to create a STEM precinct that enables other education providers and industry to co-locate and collaborate.”
“We have to work together to inspire future scientists and teach the skills and create the knowledge that will support a better future for Tasmania.”
UTAS has reassured Swisherr that it will work with the basketball centre and other users of the former K&D site to help them plan for the future.
