Covering an area of 65,000sqm, with an investment of more than €50 million, Campus Hub is Vassallo Group’s largest project ever. It is Malta’s only student village serving a population of 12,000 students, including 800 residents and 4,000 University of Malta staff. But it is the dynamic array of activities and consumer retail outlets concentrated around its public pjazza that have made it a favourite with families and the public, not to mention the medical staff and patients’ relatives from Mater Dei Hospital next door.
With the accommodation all booked up for the next three years and a steady stream of retail customers, Campus Hub is, by any definition, a success. But there is clearly no resting on any laurels for its CEO Chris Vassallo who is eager to strive for more to ensure the balance between commercial success and community spirit is maintained and continues to prosper. “I am not super confident we are doing everything right,” he says with complete humility. “We are just starting and there is always a learning curve. My biggest fear is that we become complacent. We are still very eager to do more. We want to leave a good impact on what good business
should look like.”
Success is most definitely not a one-person result and Chris highlighted how the entire team has “worked really hard together” to reach today’s achievements. “My brother Pio laid the foundation of something amazing. I have a really good management team and a very hardworking, committed group of employees. Everyone is really driven by this project and they work very hard to achieve this. My board of directors was very helpful and supportive and this was critical to the success of Campus Hub.”
“Vassallo Group has always thrived on doing one-off projects and Campus Hub is definitely a one-off project,” added Chris. “With that comes a lot of pride, as well as the responsibility to do it right.” And if it is not right, Campus Hub’s main customers – the students – will not hesitate to let him know. “We take all the students’ feedback on board and make sure that commercial interests do not trump social interests. How do we do that? By being honest with our pricing and ensuring the value proposition makes sense to the customers and that is reflected in the kind of outlets selected for the pjazza.”
“Before we opened Campus Hub we had carried out a survey among university students asking them what it should look like and what type of outlets and brands they would wish to see. We built our decisions based on that feedback.” This harks back to the original balance between the social need of creating a good space and the economic priorities and Chris pointed out that maintaining this balance is the “biggest challenge”. “Besides the pjazza and its commercial outlets, we have 800 students living here who represent the biggest economic impact on the complex. We need to make sure we deliver on our product promise and continue to invest in the wellbeing of the students living with us… quality has to keep improving and the value proposition is always evident.”
Another big challenge, which cannot be overlooked is parking. Campus Hub’s underground carpark can fit 500 cars but by 7.30am it is already full. Another issue that demands the team’s full attention is the safety and wellbeing of its student-residents. “We are dealing with 800 young people who want to enjoy and explore life, so safeguarding them is our priority. We want to create a safe environment.” The students have embraced life at Campus Hub and particularly its role within the wider community, so much so that some even volunteer to help out at the annual Hyrox sports event in aid of charity, which is expected to attract 1,500 participants next April.
This is another example of how Campus Hub, while being a commercial enterprise, is fulfilling its social responsibility and not just as a CSR tick-box exercise. “We feel we have a responsibility. Campus Hub is an economic player. We are creating employment but at the same time we have the responsibility to create opportunities to do good.” Ultimately, the main driver of Campus Hub is to “improve student life” and, despite all the activities around the pjazza that have generated a thriving community, just like a good old-fashioned village square, “we have to keep in mind that there are people studying”. Shhh!