Edinburgh set for £59m Burnet Point development fusing student and private residential housing

Unite Students says the 401-bed property known as Burnet Point is set to be completed in September next year, ready for the start of the 2025/26 academic year, and will include 298 purpose-built student properties, 49 private-rented residential apartments, and 17 affordable flats provided through housing association Hillcrest Homes. The development extends the firm’s build-to-rent pilot, which began in 2022 when it acquired 180 Stratford, in Stratford, London.

Burnet Point is also expected to offer a dedicated community space, and will in the coming months work with local charities and community groups to find a partner. The site is also expected to be Unite Students’ lowest carbon new-build, and will use low-carbon concrete and timber composite, billed as an environmentally friendly alternative to natural wood.

Tom Brewerton, group development director at Unite Students, said: “This is the company’s first combined development of purpose-built student accommodation, build-to-rent and affordable housing. We look forward to contributing positively to the student and private rental market in Edinburgh to help address the supply-demand imbalance in the city. This development reflects Unite Students’ ongoing commitment to provide high-standard, affordable student accommodation in locations where demand is greatest.

“We are excited to build our lowest carbon new-build property to date in our portfolio. The development will also contribute to the regeneration of the local area, which has seen significant investment in recent years. We are working closely with the community and later this year will offer a dedicated space for use by a local charity which is aligned with our purpose of creating a Home for Success.”

Unite Students says it provides homes to 70,000 students across 158 properties in 23 university towns and cities – including Edinburgh (where its sites include Sugarhouse Close), Glasgow (in September 2023 announcing a £95m, 800-bed development that would increase its portfolio in the city to some 3,000 apartments), and Aberdeen.