New 345-bed student complex to open in 2026

The eight-storey building on Queen Street, close to the city’s Docks, will meet the growing demand for high-quality and specialised student accommodation in the region, according to the company.

Behind the venture are alternatives investment specialists Elkstone, and Harrison Street, a global real assets investment management firm.

Earlier this year, Galway City Council granted a three-year extension of time for the €25m development to be built, to Queen Street Investments, formed by Elkstone Capital Partners, which took ownership of it last August.

The development had been given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanála in 2018, but a civil legal case involving a dispute over ownership of some land, since resolved, had held up work.

To include 345 en suite bedrooms on a three-quarter acre site adjacent to the Presbyterian Church at Victoria Place, the new accommodation will be built in two blocks, one of them seven storeys over ground floor and accommodating 158 bedrooms and the second block eight storeys over ground floor and accommodating 187 bedrooms. There will be 175 bicycle parking spaces and no carparking.

Amenities will include common study areas, a gym, bicycle storage, a cinema room, rooftop terrace, and 24/7 reception.

Due to be completed in 2026, it is part of a wider partnership to deliver 1,500 purpose-built student beds in Limerick, Cork, Dublin, and Galway by 2028.

Mayor of Galway, Cllr Peter Keane, has welcomed the ‘A-rated and world-class’ project, saying it would “go a long way towards relieving the pressures on private rental accommodation in Galway City".

Elkstone said in a statement confirming the construction timeframe that almost 13,000 undergraduates alone required housing in a city with just under 6,000 student beds, meaning 7,000 were left without access to dedicated student accommodation.

Pictured: How the new student complex will look.