Education taking larger slice of CBD

By STUART DYE

Auckland's sprawling education institutions are occupying more city centre office space than the legal and banking professions.

According to a city council report, the number and size of education institutions have grown more than 300 per cent since 1996, now hogging more than 120,000sq m of central business district office space.

The growth has been largely due to an increase in private training establishments and English language schools, as well as to Otago and Waikato Universities establishing campuses and the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology expanding theirs.

The city council said the growth had played a critical role in the CBD's property market revival over the past few years.


The report notes that global property managers Jones Lang LaSalle's World Winning Cities study predicts that the world's next generation of rising city stars will be ranked on growth, real estate activity and construction rates.

"Education puts a lot into the city, but we want to make sure it is a great place for students to learn," said Mark Donnelly, chairman of the strategy and governance committee.

"Education in the city is a key component of our future strategy, which aims to make Auckland's CBD one of the world's most vibrant and dynamic business and cultural centres."

The council plans to undertake annual mapping studies to track the location and significance of the education industry.

It has met Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton in a bid to ensure Government policy will attract overseas students and not send them to "the competition" in Britain, Singapore and Australia.