Construction of a £28m (US$37.2m, €31.7m) sports complex at Southampton Solent University has begun – part of an ongoing £100m (US$132.7m, €113.1m) estates development plan.

The four-floor facility on Solent’s East Park Terrace campus will comprise two sports halls, a high-performance gym for elite-level athletes, a personal training and teaching gym for the university’s academic leaders, a 100-station community gym, and spin, aerobics and yoga studios.

Southampton Solent University vice-chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin said: “This building will not only enhance the learning experience for our students and staff but also deepen the university's connections with our wider local community, supporting the regions’ economic growth and development.”

The building has been designed by Morgan Sindall and its team, including Architecture PLB and Arup engineers, and supported by planning consultants JLL.

In May, Pulse Fitness was appointed to help with the planning and design of the facility.

The university’s sports and leisure facilities are provided on campus and across a number of sites across the city. The lease at one of these, St Mary’s Leisure Centre, ends next summer (2018).

The new complex is expected to open in the summer of 2019.