The University of Wollongong is proceeding with a $250 million seniors living development at its Innovation Campus in North Wollongong, despite recent job cuts that have drawn criticism from staff. The project, known as the Health and Wellbeing Precinct, is being developed in partnership with retirement village company Keyton, which will fund most of the cost. UOW will contribute $20 million of the estimated $249.5 million total.
The development's concept plan was approved in May 2024 by the Southern Regional Planning Panel. The cost has risen from $173 million in the approved plan to $250 million, a figure UOW had indicated as early as 2021. The university says the projected overall cost reflects estimates from the external developer and that it is not funding construction.
Many university staff have criticized the project, noting that UOW cut about 200 jobs this year due to financial troubles. National Tertiary Education Union UOW branch president Susan Engel said staff need to understand how the project's cost influenced cost-cutting decisions. “Our management is forging ahead with this project while hundreds of staff at UOW have lost their jobs in the past year,” she said. “For most staff this looks like yet another public-private partnership gone wrong.”
The precinct will include a seven-storey residential aged care facility with 180 beds and a co-located child care centre in Stage 1, followed by two seniors apartment buildings with 236 units in Stage 2. The facility is designed as a “living lab” for teaching, learning, and research, with a focus on ageing, dementia, and mental-health challenges. UOW said the project will support education, research, and community engagement, and will include contributions to teaching and research spaces as well as infrastructure.
Critics have dubbed the project the “VC's retirement home,” suggesting it is a legacy project from former vice-chancellors with contracts the current management cannot exit. UOW has previously faced financial setbacks from a public-private partnership, including a $169 million payout to exit the Koolabong student accommodation deal.
