UCOL Centre for Healthcare and Social Services | Palmerston North

• Education Facility

• Site Area 2,715m2

• Total Floor Area 2,113m2

Gibbons purchased the property at 37-49 King Street, Palmerston North (locally known as PSA House) at the end of 2021. The old earthquake-prone PSA House, originally built in 1962, will be seismically strengthened and modernised to become the UCOL (Universal College of Learning) Centre for Healthcare and Social Services. Work started in January 2022 and the building is expected to open by the end of the year. The building’s complete interior refurbishment will transform PSA House into a modern, adaptable centre for UCOL where practical courses for nursing, medical imaging, social services, and mental health education will be taught. 

Established in 1892, UCOL is a high-performing Government-funded Institute of Technology and Polytechnic. It presently offers over 100 programmes across four North Island New Zealand campuses. Health education makes up a third of UCOL’s activity and it is expected there will continue to be strong demand for providing training for people to work in nursing, medical imaging, and community health environments. The new Centre of Healthcare and Social Services will allow UCOL to increase nursing and health related student numbers by fifty percent over time.