JCU helps revitalize Townsville’s CBD

11 March 2014

James Cook University is expanding into Townsville’s central business district, opening a teaching and student services centre in the heart of the city.

James Cook University (JCU)
Who wouldn’t want to study in Townsville?

In a major announcement, the university has revealed the three-storey centre will be located in the new City Arcade development.

Speaking at the launch on March 7, JCU Vice Chancellor Sandra Harding said the centre will help revitalize Townsville’s CBD and boost community engagement: “This is a fantastic development, allowing JCU to expand its teaching and student services in Townsville, and work more closely with civic leaders.”

Professor Harding said her long-held ambition has been that anyone who visits Townsville will know that it is a university city, which is home to an internationally recognized research and teaching institution.

“This gives life to that ambition. We are very grateful to the Lancini Group for helping us to realize this dream,” she said.
The centre will be used for a wide variety of purposes:

  • Initially, students from Law, Business and the Creative Arts will take part in a diverse range of activities at the centre, including working more closely with business and industry on what’s known as Integrated Learning projects.
  • Post-graduate classes will be offered, with the CBD location making it easier for people to attend lectures.
  • Students will be able to “drop in” to use computers, and some will attend lectures and tutorials at the new centre.
  • The centre will host short courses for companies seeking professional development for their staff.
  • The space will include a boardroom and meeting facilities, allowing the university to engage more directly with business and the local community.
  • An innovative display area will showcase the university’s world-leading research.

City Arcade is part of the Lancini Group’s development, which runs between Flinders and Sturt streets in Townsville’s CBD.
Lancini Group managing director, Laurence Lancini said that the university was the type of tenant that they had envisioned when planning the urban, cosmopolitan development.

“Our three levels of commercial space were perfect for James Cook University to set up their city base because we can offer the space they need to set up offices, computer labs and student service centres in such close proximity to not only everything that City Lane and City Arcade offers, but also to the tourism, hospitality and retail hubs already existing in the inner city.
“We’re really excited to have James Cook University on board with us as we embark on such a new era for the Townsville CBD,” Mr Lancini added.
The centre is expected to open in mid-2014.

James Cook University is also working to establish a presence in Cairns’ CBD in 2014 with negotiations continuing.

About James Cook University (JCU)

James Cook University is the second oldest university in Queensland, and Australia’s leading university in the tropics.

Offering excellence in teaching and research, JCU is a vibrant, multi-campus university with its main sites in the tropical Queensland cities of Townsville and Cairns, and modern city campuses in Singapore and Brisbane. Total student enrollments are more than 17,000 and growing, including more than 4,000 international students from 100 countries. James Cook University’s activities have a strong focus in regional Queensland, but its impact and reach are international, as recognized in the respected Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranking system, which has placed JCU in the top 500 universities in the world and in the top 5% of universities worldwide. There are more 300 programs available to international students to study at JCU.
Popular schools at JCU for Canadian students include

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