Unimart space new home for Pacific Student Success team

The Albany Unimart is set to be repurposed to the Pacific Student Success team (PSS), following the closure of the space. The Unimart has been closed since the first lockdown that started in March last year. For a while, it remained empty until the old shelves of Unimart were emptied, and remodelling began this year.  

Campus Operation Manager, John Shimwell, said, “The ex-Unimart space has been repurposed and refurbished to provide a new home for our Pacific Student Success team, including a distinct Pacific student area within the space.” The team consists of Massey staff, such as lecturers, course coordinators and tutors. The Massey website says that the purpose of the team is to help “Pacific students to succeed in their academic aspirations at Massey”. There is no set date yet for the opening of the new area for PSS, but the former Unimart space will be “back in use soon”.  

From a student perspective, Nicca has given her thoughts on the closure of Unimart. “In my opinion, I love it, although I will miss seeing Youseff [the Unimart store manager] around and having the little Unimart.” Nicca also gave her thoughts on the new PSS centre and how it’ll benefit Pasifika students. “I think the mart being replaced with the study space will help a lot of other Pasifika students.” She said it’ll provide a lot of help and support “to relax in a more approachable part of campus” and that the location has “easy access and [is] easy to find”.  

While the PSS team are a very welcome addition to Student Central, the much-needed pharmacy services Unimart formerly provided have still not been replaced, and it is unknown at this stage if there are any plans to do so in the future.