29-storey student skyscraper part of plans for 1,135 riverside bedrooms in Glasgow

The brownfield regeneration site at 40 Anderston Quay, next to the River Clyde, is planned to include three blocks with a total of 1,135 bedrooms, alongside a 3,700-square-foot commercial unit. Two of the blocks will accommodate purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) units, while the third will be allocated for co-living use.

All three blocks will have their own management suites, ancillary and amenity features, landscaping and extensive public realm.

Developer Downing said the site formed part of Glasgow City Council’s 2024-2030 city centre strategy, which sets out to create a vibrant place to live and work, with sustainable green spaces. The site has been selected for its proximity to nine Glasgow educational institutions including the University of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde, and Glasgow International College.

The first of the two student blocks - the scheme’s landmark tower - comprises 551 bedrooms across 29 storeys above ground level and includes an outdoor rooftop terrace. The second block will house 282 bedrooms within a ten-storey building and will also include accessible rooftop terraces.

The third block is a 13-storey building above ground level, and includes 302 co-living bedrooms, with communal lifestyle and supporting amenity spaces on every floor, and a ground floor commercial retail space.

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All three blocks promise “extensive amenity facilities”, including cycle storage, state-of-the-art gyms, games rooms, study spaces, laundries and round-the-clock site management, support and security.

Ian Harrison, projects director at Downing, said: “Submission of plans for 40 Anderston Quay comes at an exciting time of growth at Downing. The scheme not only serves to further Downing’s presence in Glasgow, but also as our new landmark Manchester co-living development Square Gardens achieves 98 per cent occupancy upon completion, clearly demonstrating the high demand for this type of accommodation amongst students and young professionals.

“With over 35 years of expertise creating high-quality living environments for students and local communities in vibrant university cities, we aim to enhance Anderston’s vibrant city centre location and university connections, support Glasgow City Centre’s 2030 vision, and help retain the UK’s and the world’s best students and young professionals.”

The latest plans come amid a boom in PBSA projects. A report earlier his year hailed student flats as a “shining light” in Scotland’s commercial property market despite wider concerns over the fallout from an ongoing university and college funding crisis, the impact on future jobs from AI, and local worries about a lack of general housing.

Downing said it had also committed to delivering a “comprehensive package” of public realm improvements alongside the mixed-use development at Anderston Quay, where the headquarters for the Daily Record and Sunday Mail were once based. This includes the creation of a public plaza, a pedestrian walkway to the east of the site, and enhanced landscaping to better connect the city centre with the riverfront.

Glasgow city centre set for 140 more ‘much-needed’ student flats after £22m secured