Vila, that is what the future Vila Nova de Famalicão Student Residence will be called, and it will open its doors to the first tenants next year.
The building, located right in the city centre in Praça D. Maria II, has started to take shape and the start of construction was marked last Friday, March 15, by the mayor, Mário Passos, and the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato.
The government official praised the future residence, which has been a long-awaited project for students and higher education institutions in the municipality.
"I'm very pleased to see a municipality, a region, working with higher education institutions (...) (to) provide an offer for these university students, but above all, also to ensure that they stay in the region, in other words, to retain highly qualified people," said the minister, who praised the municipality for its investment and boldness in investing in a project that strives for innovation and sustainability.
The mayor of Famalicão, meanwhile, stressed that this is a project "of enormous importance for Famalicão, as it will provide a response to the accommodation needs of students and researchers from the municipality's higher education institutions and technology centres, who are currently facing difficulties in this area".
Mário Passos also pointed out that this work will add even more value to the city "by bringing young people to the centre, giving it more life and dynamics".
It should be noted that this will be the first student residence to be built in the municipality of Famalicense and will cater for the four higher education institutions established in the municipality: Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário (CESPU), Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave (IPCA), Universidade do Minho and Universidade Lusíada.
The contract was awarded to Cari Construtores and Domingos da Silva Teixeira. The infrastructure will be installed in the former municipal environmental services building, in Praça D. Maria II, and will involve an investment of around 4.8 million euros, 3.4 million of which will come from the National Plan for Accommodation in Higher Education (PNAES) supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), in partnership with the Erasmus+ Education and Training National Agency.
According to the description, the project includes the refurbishment and adaptation of the existing main building and the construction of a new block specially designed for residential purposes. Once the building has been refurbished and extended, it will be able to accommodate 91 residents in 53 rooms of five different types, including single and double rooms and studios and rooms adapted for people with reduced mobility.
The project also features various functional areas, such as reception, study room, indoor and outdoor dining and socialising space, kitchens, sanitary facilities, technical rooms, staff support area, management areas, storage and a garage/workshop for bicycles.