How Fusion Group is developing student accommodation schemes in Leeds and York
For generations, sharing shabby digs at university was all part of the student experience; a rite of passage to be endured rather than enjoyed.
But times have changed and Fusion Group, the privately owned student accommodation developer and operator, believes students deserve better.
Fusion aims to shape the future of the PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation) sector as it develops schemes in Yorkshire. Laura Kurt, the Manchester-based Fusion Group’s commercial director, said that as PBSA has grown and matured as a sector, there has been a change in student habits.
"In the past, people lived in halls of residence in their first year and then moved out to live in houses which they shared with other students, which was all part of the student experience,’’ Ms Kurt added:
"Students now understand that they don't have to do this rite of passage. They can get a far better support system with a PBSA building, along with gym spaces and 24/7 security, and that really resonates with students. They don't have to have a poor experience in their second and third years."
Fusion is split into three different sections; investment, development and operations who work as one company “to elevate the student experience” according to Ms Kurt.
"We've been in the PBSA sector for 12 years and delivered 5,000 beds already. We have a pipeline of another 11,000 beds over the next five years. We want to push and drive the whole sector to provide a better student experience and create a world class university experience alongside our university partners.
"It's important for us to be collaborative in the cities that we operate in. We're planning for the students who will be living there 10, 15 and 20 years after we've achieved practical completion of these schemes.
"That relationship between investment, development and operations is really important for us so we can find out what students want and how they are going to be living’’ she added. “It's also about us making the right commercial decisions now to make it work for the local communities.”
Ms Kurt said the PBSA sector had, in the past, been largely concerned with just providing beds.
"Now we need to look at how students experience university and what are their learning requirements and what is the capability of the on-campus resources,’’ she added.
"Do they need the same types of library space and how are we adapting to the fact that most students use devices?
Twenty years ago, you would go to a library and rent out a laptop and spend eight hours drafting your essay.
Now, you could do it from your phone and the submission process is very different.
"Creating a supportive environment for learning is fundamental to our offering. Our understanding of the importance of young people's mental health has also evolved.
"There's an acknowledgement that it's not healthy for a young person to spend eight hours scrolling TikTok in a 20 square metre bedroom for an extended period of time.
"We're also conscious of the need to build a community and social interaction.”
The Yorkshire market has been a hive of activity for Fusion in recent years.
"We've delivered an 858 bed scheme in Sheffield in 2021,’’ said Ms Kurt. “We are due to achieve practical completion in the next six weeks on the Rialto House scheme in York, which is on the former Mecca Bingo site.”
Rialto House offers 275 rooms across a mix of ensuite and studio units and includes a fully equipped gym, gaming zone, recording studio, landscaped gardens, within easy reach of the University of York and York St John University.
Ms Kurt added: "We've got the Foss Bank scheme in York (which will deliver more than 1,000 purpose built student rooms) currently going through pre-application stage and in Leeds we are mobilising a site called Arena Point with Olympian as the developer. We will be operating that in 2026. That's 633 rooms and it is believed to be the tallest PBSA building in Europe at 44 storeys.”
Recently, Tri7, the real estate investment and asset management firm, and its joint venture partner Fusion Students also submitted a planning application to Leeds City Council for a purpose-built student accommodation -led scheme on the site of The Core shopping centre.
All this planned development comes at a time when people are looking more carefully at what their entire university experience will be like, said Ms Kurt.
“We have a responsibility to support universities in their student recruitment drives,’’ she added. “It is the universities' job to do that recruitment piece but we also have a massive role to play in how we can support that and also unlock some growth with the universities where they might not be able to do that themselves.”
Fusion Group’s development director, Julian Evans, said that the availability of quality accommodation could be factor when students decide where to study.
"Parents are more and more focused on the safety and security element; there are still concerns about rogue landlords,’’ he added.
He stressed that sensitivity was often needed when planning developments on ancient sites. Close to the planned Foss Bank site in York there is a large burial ground which, according to Historic England, provides critical insights into York's medieval Jewish population.
Fusion Group, and its investment partner ARGO Real Estate, have been working closely with the Chief Rabbi and other groups to develop proposals to protect the site’s heritage.
"Community engagement brings a lot of issues to the surface,’’ Mr Evans added.
“There's a huge responsibility on us to get things right."