Urban regeneration specialist Queensberry Real Estate has been selected by Sheffield City Council as the preferred bidder for the role of strategic development partner in the £480M Sheffield Retail Quarter project.The first phase of the project is expected to be complete in 2019 with further final phases being completed in 2021. The project is expected to create around 2,500 jobs in the region.Councillor Leigh Bramall, deputy leader of Sheffield City Council and cabinet member for business and economy, said: "We are delighted to announce Queensberry Real Estate as preferred bidder to become our Strategic Development Partner for Sheffield Retail Quarter.“This is a key milestone and a significant step forward in the delivery of the scheme, which will provide a transformational development in the heart of our city centre.”Queensberry’s CEO Paul Sargent said: “My team has been focused for the last 18 months on winning this major instruction. It is a dream come true. A scheme that meets the scale of our ambition and challenges our creative experiences to date.“We will work seamlessly with Sheffield City Council to deliver the long awaited regeneration of the city centre. Our joint plans will be cutting-edge and inspirational placing the city at the forefront of the next revolution in urban place making.”
Plans have been submitted to Salford City Council for the second phase of the mixed-use property development MediaCityUK in Manchester.Phase two of MediaCityUK will feature 50,000sq m of offices, 1,800 apartments, retail and leisure space and a pedestrian promenade, which will run through the development. Entailing an investment of over £1bn, this phase of the project will also involve the construction of up to ten new buildings.Salford’s planning panel is expected to consider the plans in September.Peel Group CEO Steven Underwood said: “This application is another major step forward in the evolution of MediaCityUK. “Our partnership with Legal and General Capital, alongside continued support from the public sector, provides a strong platform to deliver future development phases of the UK’s fastest growing hub for the creative and digital industries.“MediaCityUK is a shining example of what can be achieved across the Northern Powerhouse, combining the talents of great people with ambition and vision.”MediaCityUK is a joint venture between Peel Land & Property and Legal & General Capital.
Bahrain Real Estate Investment (Edamah) has announced an investment of $930M to transform the Hawar Islands into an eco-friendly tourism destination.The project, to be located across 100ha on the northern coast, will be delivered in two stages. Stage one will include the construction of a 350 key five-star lagoon resort and 150 eco-friendly apartments and villas. Stage two will involve the renovation of an 100-year old Hawar mosque, the development of a bird research centre, a hotel and heritage souq, 155 residential villas and a wellness resort and spa.Construction work is expected to start in 2017, with the lagoon resort opening in 2019. The second phase of the development will be complete by the end of 2021. The development also includes a revamp of the existing Hawar resort, which will offer new water sports activities, entertainment and restaurant facilities. The resort is scheduled to open its doors in July 2016.Edamah’s chief development officer Mireille Babti said: “Preserving the environment and promoting healthy living is at the heart of our development’s strategy. “We are promoting an offering to cater to diverse lifestyles and socioeconomic conditions, and we aim to transform Hawar into an eco-friendly offering that intertwines with nature to provide an experience of barefoot luxury that is second to none.“In doing so, the team is conscious of developing Northern Hawar in a holistic manner, promoting sustainability and innovation, while preserving the raw wilderness of the habitat.”Once completed, the project is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs.Hawar archipelago comprises 35 islands spanning over 51M sq m to the south-east of the Kingdom’s mainland. 80% of its land is a wildlife preservation zone, home to the world’s largest breeding for the Socotra cormorant bird, the dugong seacow, the Arabian oryx, reem gazelle, and extensive sea grass and coral.
Skanska will invest SEK1.3bn ($160M) in the construction of the Solna United office building project in Stockholm, Sweden. Skanska Sweden won the SEK1bn ($123.2M) construction contract,for the office building, which will be located next to Solna station. The building will have ten floors and a total area of 33,000 sq m.The project will also feature a garage, a restaurant, a café, and a rooftop space.Construction work has started and involves the demolition of the existing office building. Solna United is scheduled to be ready by mid-2019.
Larsen & Toubro and Al Balagh Trading & Contracting joint venture has been awarded a contract to build the Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar.The contract was announced by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.Designed by Ramboll and Pattern, the 40,000-seat stadium will host games up to the quarter-finals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.Under the contract, the joint venture will be responsible for the main works and construction of the site, following the completion of enabling works.The contract for the project is for a combined value of $360m for both JV partners and is scheduled to be completed by 2019.After completion of the tournament, the stadium will accommodate 20,000 seats and will be the home for Al Rayyan Sports Club.Al Balagh chairman Sherida Saad Jubran Al Kaabi said: "The award of main construction works for Al Rayyan Stadium and precinct to Al Balagh, a 100% Qatari company along with its joint venture partner, L&T, is a great honour and recognition."L&T Qatar CEO Dr Jens Huckfeldt said: "It is a matter of immense pride for us at Larsen & Toubro Limited, along with our joint venture partner Al Balagh, to have been given the responsibility to design and build the Al Rayyan Stadium and Precinct in preparation for the historic first Middle Eastern FIFA World Cup in 2022."We are extremely mindful of the trust and confidence given to us by the Supreme Committee for constructing this stadium and it will be our endeavour to deliver a masterpiece."
Developer Moda Living and Apache Capital Partners have submitted plans to the Liverpool City Council for the £80M residential development in Princes Dock.To be located on Liverpool’s waterfront, the 34-storey tower is part of Peel Group’s £5.5bn Liverpool Waters project.Apache Capital is fully financing the project, which will include 304 apartments for rent, a lounge, a gym, a roof, a terrace, a garden and a cinema.Moda Living’s joint managing director Tony Brooks said: “We have worked in collaboration with Peel on their masterplan for this unique part of the city and are very excited about our first Moda Living development in Liverpool.”Peel Group development director Lindsey Ashworth said: “Our vision for developing this important waterfront and creating unique neighbourhoods in this historical part of the city will make it an incredibly vibrant and exciting place to live and provide quality accommodation for a growing city.”
Finland-based construction firm SRV Group has secured a €290M contract for the construction of Central Finland Central Hospital.The new 100,000sq m hospital, worth about €490M, will be built near the existing central hospital. Most of the hospital premises will be taken up by specialised care, while some will be reserved for the City of Jyväskylä's basic health care.The hospital's expenses will be divided among the 21 municipalities that make up the Council of Central Finland Health Care District. SRV’s head of operations in Finland Juha Toimela said: "Central Finland Central Hospital will significantly increase our already record-high order backlog. "The final target price of the project management contractor agreement was confirmed at a meeting of the Administrative Council of the Central Finland Health Care District. This is a great example on how SRV could found reduction on costs in co-operation with the client in order to meet the target price set.”Preparatory works will start in early August and actual construction is set to commence in the beginning of September 2016.
Construction work has commenced on a $170M office tower on Brisbane’s city fringe in Queensland, Australia.The new office development, known as ‘Fortitude Valley’, is being delivered by Consolidated Properties Group (CPG) and Charter Hall Group.Upon completion, the 19,000sq m, 14-level office tower will become the new headquarters of the Australian rail freight company Aurizon and its 1,700 employees.CPG secured a 110-year lease for the site, from the Anglican Church, in a deal that secures the long term future of the existing Church building, on the site at 900 Ann St.Queensland’s deputy premier Jackie Trad said: “This is a landmark project for Fortitude Valley, bringing 1,300 jobs during the construction phase and 1,700 Aurizon workers to the area once construction is complete.”The tower is expected to be complete in 2018.
The secretary of state has approved Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) plans to develop a research and development centre at Whitley South, UK.
Sigma capital group has entered into a partnership with Keepmoat Limited to deliver 5,000 new private rented sector (PRS) homes across England by 2021.The partnership will build two-, three- and four-bedroom properties in locations across North East, Yorkshire and the East Midlands, entailing a potential investment of about £800M.Sigma will manage investment and lettings, while Keepmoat will procure the land and take the lead on the design, planning and building processes.Graham Barnet, chief executive of Sigma, said: “I am delighted to announce our partnership with Keepmoat, which has grown out of our previous relationship with them, and our continued expansion in the PRS sector. “We are very pleased that Keepmoat has chosen to work with Sigma in its first development activity in the PRS market, and believe that it underscores Sigma’s success in the PRS sector.”Keepmoat’s chief executive Dave Sheridan said: “This is a significant milestone for our business, and we are proud to be working alongside Sigma to scale-up their PRS growth ambitions.“The partnership will deliver great quality market rented homes alongside our Keepmoat homes for sale, which will allow the pace of housing delivery on strategic sites to be increased, to deliver the Government’s aspirations and provide people across the country with much-needed housing options. There is an inherent need for more housing across the country, and we are looking to tackle the issue head on.”
The University of Manchester has secured planning consent from Manchester City Council to develop a £350M engineering campus.The Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD), part of the university’s £1bn masterplan to create a world-leading campus, will bring together a multi-disciplinary engineering and scientific community and consolidate the university’s student campus around Oxford Road.Mecanoo, an architecture firm responsible for Manchester’s HOME, has been appointed to the project. Upon completion, the development is due to become home to the university’s four engineering schools and two research institutes from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Demolition on the site is currently in progress, and main construction works are scheduled to commence later in 2016. The development is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
Cheshire West and Chester Council has submitted a planning application to develop the Northgate area of Chester city centre as a mixed-use development.The £300M proposed project will include the construction of 46,500sq m of new retail, restaurant and leisure facilities in the UK city that will be delivered over two phases of construction.Phase one, expected to start in late 2017, will include the development of two restaurants within the shell of the current library building, a new market hall replacing the current Chester Market, a six-screen cinema, a new 167-bedroom four-star hotel and a conference centre. The hotel would replace the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which together with the Forum and several other buildings on the site would be knocked down in 2019. Work would then commence on the second phase of construction to create the main retail space, department store and residential development.David Lewis, managing director of Rivington Land, the council’s appointed development manager, said: “We are at a point where we have sufficient confidence in the commercial market prospects of the Northgate Scheme to advise the council to make this application for a major redevelopment of the city centre.“We have worked hard with the council and consultees to fine tune the detailed design of Chester Northgate to ensure the best possible fit with the city’s needs and the demands of retailers and other commercial interests.”
A joint venture between Murphy and Hochtief has been chosen as preferred contractor by Sirius Minerals to build the tunnel for the £2.4bn potash mine in North Yorkshire.The 37km underground tunnel, to be designed and built by the JV, will transport minerals from the mine to a processing plant on Teesside.This will involve a 6m-diameter TBM-bored tunnel between the mine head site at Dove’s Nest Farm near Whitby, and a portal near the town of Redcar.Designed by Arup, the plan is to use five hard rock TBMs, which will be lowered in at four intermediate staging shafts, at a starting depth of 350m below the surface at the mine head.The 12-month first phase of work will comprise front-end engineering design and a detailed geotech programme along the route.Chris Fraser, Sirius Minerals managing director and CEO, said: “This is the culmination of a huge amount of work by both the successful bidders and those that have been unsuccessful and we thank all of the groups involved for their efforts.“We are delighted to now be moving forward with our selected partners towards the implementation of the project.”AMC UK, a joint venture between Thyssen Group and Redpath Group, has been also selected as preferred contractor for mine site development.
Brookfield Multiplex has won a $290M contract from joint venture partners Frasers Property Australia and Sekisui House Australia to construct the fifth stage of the $2bn master-planned Central Park precinct.This stage, known as DUO, is a mixed residential, commercial and hotel development on the corner of Broadway and Abercrombie Streets in Chippendale. It will feature two 18-storey towers sitting on a combined five-level basement car park.Designed by Foster + Partners, the project’s residential element will include 313 apartments, of which most of the units will be located within the eastern tower.Residents will have access to an indoor pool, jacuzzi, cardio room, yoga and recreation room, rooftop terrace and BBQ and a lounge and dining room.The neighbouring western tower will feature a 297-room hotel, 5,500 sq m of commercial space, a large childcare centre and hotel.The project will create about 800 jobs during peak construction and is scheduled to be completed in April 2018.
Saudi Aramco has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GE and Cividale SpA of Italy to build the SAR1.5bn ($400M) forging and casting manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia.The facility will be located in Ras Al-Khair under the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu industrial area.It will complement Saudi Aramco’s plans to develop several industrial projects in the country including a maritime project focused on building, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of offshore platforms, jack-ups, offshore service vessels and commercial tankers.The facility is scheduled to be operational in 2020 and create 2,000 jobs in the region. Cividale is a producer in the steel and cast iron industry.Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president of finance, strategy and development Abdallah Al-Saadan said: “The MoU reflects our ambition to create a robust supply chain that builds positive synergies in the oil and gas manufacturing sector.“This builds on our deep commitment to support the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to promote economic and industrial diversification in the Kingdom and boost localized manufacturing.”The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2020 and create 2,000 jobs in the region.
John Holland and partner Commercial & General have signed a contract to deliver the new $300M Calvary Adelaide Hospital in Australia.Upon completion, the 12-storey, 350-bed facility is due to become the largest private hospital ever built in South Australia, replacing the existing Calvary Wakefield Hospital.The project will be developed by John Holland and Commercial & General, and leased back to Calvary on a long term contract. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin shortly.John Holland’s CEO Glenn Palin said that the new facility will be 50% larger than the existing hospital, and enable Calvary to meet clinical demand.Palin added: “John Holland is perfectly placed to deliver this vital piece of infrastructure for the people of Adelaide. We have extensive experience in the construction of health facilities, and understand the complexities involved.“We have constructed various hospital facilities around Australia, including the Perth Children’s Hospital, Lismore Base Hospital and the Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital. We welcome the chance to continue our work in Adelaide.”Construction on the project is scheduled to begin shortly.
The British Film Institute (BFI) is seeking a development team to construct a new £130M film and TV centre on London’s South Bank.BFI has received an offer of support of up to £87M towards the overall project cost, subject to tendering starting immediately.The new International Centre for Film, TV and the Moving Image, to occupy a riverside position on London’s South Bank, will feature a gallery, three cinema screens and an education centre.Presently, BFI is working with landowners — the South Bank Centre, Braeburn Estates, Jubilee Gardens Trust and Lambeth Council — to ensure that the development will be sensitively designed to complement an expanded Jubilee Gardens.BFI’s CEO Amanda Nevill said: “British film and British filmmakers deserve a home now more than ever, a building that will express our optimism, our confidence and our excitement about Britain’s leading role in the future of film, television and the moving image at home and internationally. “It will be a place where filmmakers and audiences will come together to be inspired by our creative legacy and to be part of this most fast moving, dynamic and popular art-form.”As part of this development, Braeburn Estates will also create 6,500sq m of new green parkland on Jubilee Gardens, extending the current space between the London Eye and Hungerford Bridge.The project is expected to be complete in 2022.
Real estate investment company LXB Retail Properties has secured planning consent from the South Ayrshire Council for key elements of a new community development at Corton, UK.Corton is the first phase of the South East Ayr Development that will feature 2,700 new homes on a 450-acre site over 30 years. The development is set to be delivered in three phases: Corton, Alton and Cockhill.The Corton phase comprises 750 houses, a new primary school, a hotel, a neighbourhood centre, shops, a pub/restaurant, business units and community and leisure facilities.The approved plans include a Sainsbury’s supermarket, with associated car park and petrol filling station, and a new equestrian, pedestrian and cycle bridge over the A77, linking into a footpath network.The Corton development is expected to deliver a total new investment of about £184M in South Ayrshire.Sandra Carter from LXB said: “We are delighted that detailed consents for this initial phase have been granted facilitating the delivery of the new supermarket and site infrastructure.“It is anticipated that other elements of the development will soon be brought forward including a pub/restaurant, other neighbourhood business and amenity spaces together with the first phase of private and affordable housing.”
US-based automotive supplier Flex-N-Gate is set to construct a new $95M manufacturing facility in Detroit, Michigan.The new plant, to be built on a 30-acre site located on Detroit’s eastside in the I-94 Industrial Park, will supply parts to Ford Motor Company.The project has received two important approvals last week: the Michigan Strategic Fund board approved a $3.5M Business Development Program grant to incentivise the supplier to expand its Michigan operations, and the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit (EDC) approved the sale of 30-acres in the industrial park to Flex-N-Gate.Flex-N-Gate owner Shahid Khan said: “Building a new plant from the ground up within the Detroit city limits will be a milestone moment for Flex-N-Gate, made possible thanks to our partnership and collaboration with Ford, the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan.”“Their collective support and vision to convert a neglected urban area into a manufacturing centre that will create hundreds of new, sustainable and well-paying jobs here in Detroit has been nothing short of spectacular. We are grateful and looking forward to seeing this project become a reality.”The project will create up to 650 new jobs in Detroit over the next three years, with the possibility of adding up to 750 total jobs at its full capacity.
Dragages Singapore has secured a €100M contract for the construction of two condominium complexes in Singapore.The contract has been awarded by United Venture Development, a joint venture between UOL Venture Investments and Singland Homes.Designed by ADDP Architects, the project will include two 40-storey towers, 505 apartments and a total floor area of about 46,000sq m. Both towers will measure 140m in height.Dragages Singapore, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, will utilise a modular construction technique based on a reinforced concrete structure, which will enable the condominiums to meet the Singapore authorities’ stipulation that 65% of the towers’ superstructure must employ PPVC — Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction.Nicolas Borit, Bouygues Bâtiment International deputy CEO in charge of Asia-Pacific, said: “We are very proud that our customer, United Venture Development, has shown confidence in us and given us the opportunity to support them in carrying out this project in Singapore. “The experience in this market acquired by Dragages and the construction system chosen were decisive factors in winning this contract.”Construction work on the project is set to commence shortly and will last for three years, with handover scheduled for the end of the first half of 2019.