São Paulo – Foreign students at the University of São Paulo (USP) will have a new address starting in 2012: the centre of São Paulo. The university will use two buildings located near the USP’s Law School to lodge approximately 300 students, all of whom are foreigners. The two condominiums combined will have 98 apartments.
According to information from the university website, the buildings will be located on the Benjamin Constant and José Bonifácio streets and will be connected. The project, due to be completed in late 2012, should receive 9 million reals (US$ 5.6 million) in investment.
The vice-rector for international relations at the USP, Adnei Melges Andrade, says the new condominium will increase the supply of housing to students. He claims that the USP’s Residential Block (Conjunto Residencial da – Crusp) is unable to cater to all the students who want to live at the university. Besides, he said, the campus is far from the centre, which makes life difficult for students who want to go to the movies or get to know the city in their spare time. He stressed that foreigners have the hardest time.
Andrade also claims that the new condominiums will contribute for Brazilian students to get equal treatment when studying in other countries. According to the USP, the condominiums for foreigners will also aid in the recovery of the centre of São Paulo by bringing people to live in a commercial area of the city.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
