Cities and large towns, especially those housing a university, are attracting an increasing number of people. The best of these campuses add to the appeal of urban environments: a new generation of youngsters, accustomed to travelling and moving around, now plan in advance for periods to be spent away from home to receive an education and prepare themselves for entering what is a more international and connected world. In addition to being attractive hubs for young students, universities are also historically the heart of research centres, and besides, the mobility of researchers is nothing new: in the academic environment, moving from one place to another has always been a necessity.

While on the one hand the number of opportunities for young students and researchers has increased, on the other, the pressure for accommodation has gradually been rising. The larger university towns and cities suffer from a chronic shortage of this kind of accommodation at accessible prices. For many local administrations, construction is the last option: when it is possible, the direction taken by environmental demands over the past few years suggests restructuring old buildings to adapt them to new energy and sustainability requirements.

This is precisely the issue being tackled by one of the latest operations managed by Gran Giardinetti S.r.l. with the support of ARECneprix and Allegria Developments. The operation revolves around a building located close to the new City of Knowledge in Rome, a project which over the upcoming years will see public and private investments of over 3 billion euro aiming to create a multi-functional hub for research in front-line biotechnology, with California’s Silicon Valley being the model.

The project

The property, previously owned by the illimity Group, has its origin in collateral provided for a loan managed by ARECneprix, which subsequently performed activities ranging from the valorisation of the asset through to the selling process. The building has been recently purchased by Gran Giardinetti S.r.l., headed by Leonardo Bongiorno, which has been following the conversion and valorisation process with the support of Allegria Developments. The consortium also sees the presence of other private and family office investors.

The complex – currently consisting of residential and commercial activities – will undergo a structural restyling that will convert it into modern student accommodation. The property is situated close to the new Roma-Giardinetti underground station and will be used to satisfy part of the strong demand for housing in the catchment area that includes the Tor Vergata University and the two Polyclinic and University Hospitals of Tor Vergata and Casilino, as well as the numerous top-level research agencies to be found in the district, such as the Italian Space Agency and the National Research Council (CNR).

The reconstruction will allow for the development of 216 studios (i.e. housing units) and micro-apartments, each with its own private bathroom and kitchenette, as well as large shared communal spaces such as a gym, study-meeting rooms, a library and a film theatre. One section will be used for longer stays, those of up to an academic year, while a second will serve for short-stays (daily, weekly or monthly). The plan includes the addition of new neighbourhood retail stores that will enable the complex to fit in better with the life of the local district.

The investment is the third project developed by the consortium, consolidated by the business joint venture with Habyt, world leader in the co-living sector with more than thirty thousand units in three continents, which will act as the structure’s operator.

Leonardo Bongiorno: “A complex for students dedicated to my father’s memory”

“Our family office has been active for thirty years in the real estate sector, firstly with my mother and now with me”, explained Leonardo Bongiorno from his Milan office. “And what excites us most is the fact that we are constructing a building intended for the very same youngsters that my father often rewarded in his television shows, dedicating it to his memory”, he added.

“A few years ago the subject of student housing was not on everybody’s lips as, fortunately, it is today”, Bongiorno continued. “This way, with the Giardinetti operation we will be building a hybrid property consisting of one part exclusively dedicated to students and a second block which will instead be used to serve a population of young workers looking for their first job and needing flexible solutions”.

 “Only 4% of students in Italy currently live in modern settings such as this”, Bongiorno pointed out. “The percentages are higher in other countries. Italy’s buildings are often dilapidated, while in the Giardinetti complex we will be providing a series of services to make the study experience more pleasant and comfortable. A secure and controlled environment, where there is no shortage of socialising space”. And besides, Bongiorno concluded, “statistics show that people living in a student residence graduate earlier and with higher marks, and enjoy better psycho-physical well-being”. The project envisages providing grants to support deserving students and researchers living in the building through the use of the Mike Bongiorno foundation, which for many years now has been involved in fostering social policies for young people. The first arrivals are expected in eighteen months’ time.