Downing College has begun work to demolish former restaurant and bar, Cuba Libre, to make way for new student accommodation.

The College plans to redevelop buildings at 19-35 Regent Street, with the Cuba Libre building to be converted into 26 en suite student rooms alongside restaurant space. Several buildings on Regent Street are set to be partially demolished as part of the plans.

The proposed student rooms and restaurant space will be located in the city centre, next to Parker’s Piece.

Designers of the project, CMP Architects, described the site as “occupied by poorly maintained buildings, which had been heavily and incoherently manipulated over the years”.

The development plans include a retail unit on the ground floor, and restaurant space for students and visitors.

The plans would provide “much needed” student accommodation, a council officer said, though it would also mean a “modest reduction in market housing”.

The application to redevelop the buildings was submitted by Downing College Developments Ltd – Cambridge City Council approved the plans in September 2024.

This comes after Varsity revealed in November the College’s plans to turn a first-year accommodation building, Howard Lodge, into a year-round B&B hotel for conference attendees.

Regarding this most recent development, a Downing student told Varsity: “While the College’s plans to redevelop houses on Regent Street into student accommodation are definitely necessary given Downing’s accommodation shortage, I wish that it hadn’t come to this.

“It seems to students that this shortage has been created because the College chose to convert Howard Lodge – a high-quality, on-site student accommodation building – into a B&B for conference guests.”

They continued: “It is a shame that the College’s new accommodation development plans will see fewer students living on-site. I and many others chose Downing largely because of its strong reputation for student accommodation, but these plans make me question whether that reputation will continue to be upheld.”

The construction of new accommodation on Regent Street is part of the College’s broader aim to expand and reconfigure its accommodation.

The demolition work will be carried out by hand, according to a spokesperson from Demcom Demolition. They said: “all of the bricks are being kept because we are going to reuse them”.

Downing College was contacted for comment.