The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has walked away from its plans to move entirely into Hobart’s central business district, announcing plans to build a new state-of-the-art science and mathematics facility at its current Sandy Bay campus.
In an email to staff, University vice-chancellor, Professor Rufus Black, announced a new $500 million science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) facility would be built at the existing Sandy Bay campus, and two inner city sites will be sold.
The proposed move met with much local opposition. (Facebook: Save UTAS campus)
Professor Black said the university’s plans for the future revolved around campus sites in the state’s south “providing students with experiences built around the best the city has to offer”.
He said the plan was “contingent on securing support and significant government funding”.
The four sites would be:
- A new STEM campus at Sandy Bay, requiring a complete retrofit of some existing buildings and adding some new ones.
- A city campus built around the existing medical sciences and creative arts building, plus the old Forestry building, which would be home to the schools of Business and Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences.
- A historic campus on Hobart’s Queens Domain, featuring the university’s international school, outdoor education program and parts of its health degrees.
- A waterfront campus, centred around the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies facilities at Taroona and on Hobart’s waterfront.
“As you know, many of these elements are in place.
“Others, like the Forestry building and IMAS Taroona are well underway and on track to be complete in 2026,” Professor Black said in the email to staff.
“We have made it clear that our priority now is STEM in Southern Tasmania. Contemporary STEM 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.”
The University of Tasmania had wanted to move away from Sandy Bay, but has now announced it will keep some operations there. (ABC News: Loretta Lohberger)
Professor Black said the new STEM facilities would not be built until “well into the 2030s” unless the university received government support and got started on its plans — something he said would put Tasmania well behind other states.
“That matters when so many new jobs and the competitiveness of our existing industries are dependent on science and technology,” he said.
UTAS had been set on building the science, technology, engineering and mathematics facility in Hobart’s CBD, but earlier this year started consulting with staff and students about whether it was best located at the Sandy Bay campus.
Plans to sell CBD buildings, develop Sandy Bay land
The university said it planned to sell two inner-city sites, the old K&D building on Murray Street, and a large property on the corner of Argyle and Bathurst Street, after finding they were “no longer required to support future teaching and research”.
“The proceeds from the sales will be invested in upgrading our teaching and research facilities, including the ongoing redevelopment of IMAS Taroona and the soon to commence new research facility for the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture at Newnham,” Professor Black said.
The university has expanded its presence in central Hobart in recent years, buying up several buildings, including the old forestry building on Melville Street, which is undergoing a $131 million redevelopment.
An artist’s impression of the atrium at the old Forestry Tasmania building, which UTAS is refurbishing. (Supplied: University of Tasmania)
The university’s law faculty, plus the College of Business and Economics, had been set to the move into the old Forestry building, but the law school decided to stay at Sandy Bay in April.
The university’s Humanties and Social Sciences school will fill the gap left by law.
The university also still plans to develop land it owns above Churchill Avenue in Sandy Bay, with Professor Black telling staff it wants the support of parliamentarians to “ensure it is unencumbered so it can be developed to provide a funding contribution to new STEM facilities”.
The unviversity will refurbish some of the buildings on its Sandy Bay campus, and build some new ones. (ABC News: Loretta Lohberger)
City move divided opinion
The university had initially planned to move entirely into the CBD and commission the building of 2500 homes on the Sandy Bay campus, plus a tourism precinct and sporting facilities.
The plan has divided opinion.
A public meeting to discuss the university’s planned move to central Hobart was held at City Hall in May 2022. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
In 2022, 74.4 per cent of City of Hobart voters said they were against the university’s move into the CBD, while 25.6 per cent voted for it.
Tasmania’s two major political parties are also divided on the plan.
The Liberal Party promised at this year’s state election to give state parliament the right to veto any proposal that would involve the sale or long-term lease of the Sandy Bay land.
The Opposition announced its support for the move in July, claiming it would put education into the heart of the city, revitalise it and rebuild the state’s education assets.
Save UTAS group wary of ‘detail’
Angela Bird, co-chair of the Save UTAS committee, said the announcement from the university was a “sensible” one, but the “devil will be in the detail”.
“We would like to see the integrity of the campus preserved, and we believe that there is a lot that can be,” Ms Bird said.
“We also think that the integrity of the campus around mid-century architecture needs to be respected and we are very keen to have a look at what they actually have planned for the campus.
“We think this is a step forward, but we are still concerned that the university will be fractured.”
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