Property round up: Salix Homes; Workspace; Hollywood Bowl & more
AMBITIOUS plans have been announced to create a £2m flagship scheme in Salford providing accommodation and training for young people.
As part of the plans, housing association Salix Homes has unveiled proposals to convert the disused homeless hostel Petrie Court in Lower Kersal into a state-of-the-art training centre with live-in accommodation to help young people transform their lives.
The initiative, dubbed the Salford Working Out Project, will be the only one of its kind in Salford providing people aged 16-25 with a stable place to live while they work, complete their education or undertake training.
The project has just received £1m funding from the Homes and Communities Agency and will be match funded by Salix Homes.
Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “Our successful funding bid with the HCA has provided the green light we needed to press ahead with this project, which is fantastic news for young people in our area.”
As part of the plans Petrie Court, on Cromwell Road, will be fully refurbished and modernised creating shared accommodation, along with a state-of-the-art training centre, gym and ICT suite.
Salix Homes will also work alongside local skills and education providers to deliver training programmes and employment opportunities, as well as one-to-one support and coaching for residents.
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WORKSPACE will fit-out Centre City Tower in Birmingham after landing a contract worth £1.8m.
The Manchester business, which almost doubled its headcount in the past two months, will refurbish around 30,000sq ft of space on the ground and first floors.
It comes after the company recently completed four floors in the same building for Ofwat and Citizens Advice Bureau.
City Centre Tower is a commercial building on Hill Street and is owned by Bruntwood.
Occupiers in the 20-storey space include Legal & General and Virgin Trains.
Workspace managing director Russell Davis said: “It’s raining orders for Workspace at the moment. As well as winning the Centre City Tower refurbishment we have also landed jobs in both Manchester and Leeds recently.
“We are delighted to be working at Centre City Tower again, given it is such an important building in Birmingham city centre.”
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HOLLYWOOD Bowl at Ashton under Lyne, Greater Manchester is set to undergo an impressive £350,000 refurbishment.
The redesigned ‘new generation’ centre in Ashton Leisure Park will include a new Hollywood diner, serving handcrafted burgers, gourmet dogs, freshly made shakes served in milk bottles and retro glasses, as well as American classics from the new menu.
The diner will sit alongside a new American-style bar serving house speciality cocktails.
One of the booths in the bar has even been made out of a vintage black Ford car.
Remco Buckley, general manager of Hollywood Bowl, Manchester said: “This is a massively exciting time for our Centre – we’re getting a makeover that befits our glamourous name. We can’t wait for our customers to see the new-look centre.”
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PLANS to create 21 new industrial units on a former golf driving range in the East Lancashire town of Clitheroe have been given the go ahead.
The development, which will bring 110,000sq ft of commercial space to the Ribble Valley and create new jobs in the area, has been brought forward by local businessman James Alpe.
The 6.8-acre site on the Salthill Industrial Estate, off Lincoln Way, was the Twinbrook Golf driving range since the 1990s, but was acquired by Alpe in February 2015.
The development will see the creation of industrial units varying in size from 1,000 to 14,000sq ft, parking spaces, and associated landscaping. New trees will also be planted as part a biodiversity plan for the site.
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LIVERPOOL-based Epic Apart Hotel has enjoyed outstanding year-on-year growth of 24.5% in 2015 with revenues nearing £1m, according to new figures.
After a year in which saw the company expand, opening its third property at 75 Duke Street, taking its portfolio to 34 apartments in the city centre, the brand also announced plans for further renovation and expansion of its Seel Street and Campbell Street properties.
It comes after Epic’s most exclusive apartment to date – the £1,500-a-night Penthouse – opened in December 2015 following a £30,000 refurbishment.
Located at Epic’s Seel Street property, the Penthouse sleeps eight and is set over two floors, boasting a private bar area, three en-suite bedrooms, Jacuzzi bath in the master bedroom, and open-plan living and kitchen space, with a bespoke concierge service.
Epic managing director Simon Beer said: “We set out on a rapid growth strategy at the end of 2014 and we are pleased with the strong performance. These figures are beyond encouraging as we take the Epic brand into the next phase of growth and expansion.”
Planning consent has now been sought for Seel Street, which if successful will see the addition of seven new apartments forming part of a two-story extension, while Campbell Street will undergo a major upgrade and refurbishment programme.
Epic co-owner Fiona Beer said: “The Penthouse is something we are excited about as it demonstrates the confidence we have in Liverpool as a world-class destination, ready to meet the ever evolving needs of the 21st century traveller.
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PLANNING consent has been granted for a mixed-scheme on a disused site in Preston.
The 75,000sq ft site off Eastway in the Fulwood area of the city includes a gym and four large retail units along with four kiosks.
Local architectural practice Cassidy + Ashton, along with the Savills Retail Planning team, secured the consent.
A national food retailer is expected to be secured within the coming weeks that will result in the commencement of the development.
The planning application prepared by Cassidy + Ashton and Savills considered the positive economic benefits of the retail and leisure proposal and local transport infrastructure for the site, just off the roundabout at Eastway and Oliver’s Place.
As a result, the proposed project includes a new scheme for the Oliver’s Place/Eastway roundabout to improve the flow of traffic along Eastway.
It also supports the delivery of cycle links between Eastway and Ingol, incorporating a shared footway/cycleway along a section of the site frontage, providing access to a new Toucan crossing.
Neil Dermott, associate director at Cassidy + Ashton, said: “As a local firm with a lot of commercial and leisure experience, we understand the complexities of the retail landscape in Preston and were able to bring that knowledge into our planning advice for this scheme.”
Matthew Sobic, associate director at Savills, said: “The proposal is positive economic investment in Preston that will deliver retail and leisure facilities in a sustainable location and complement and enhance the existing offer of the city.”
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WORK is underway to transform a former hat factory into boutique student accommodation in Liverpool.
The disused premises at Number 63 Kempston Street is being converted into a residential complex in the popular city centre area Islington by Clan Contracting, based in the city.
The building is set for a huge overhaul beginning with a series of structural works to reconfigure the interior and create new openings.
Retaining its strong industrial heritage, the development will offer a new concept in student living focused on spacious communal areas without compromising on personal space, setting the building firmly apart from the many other schemes available in the city.
Suzanne Jennions of development company, Try and Lilly Properties, said: “We are really fortunate to have the opportunity to take on the old hat factory building at Number 63.
“Having housed a Liverpool institution for so many years, we aim to create a development that truly reflects the building’s history.”
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STRUCTURAL and civil engineers Booth King has opened an office in central Manchester.
The company established in Lancashire in 1969 has its head office in Ramsbottom, near Bury, and also launched an Edinburgh outpost in 2015.
It has taken space – initially for five engineers – at Planetree House in the Northern Quarter of Manchester.
Managing director Mark Moppett said: “We have experienced our largest growth over the past 12 months, which is largely due to our strong client relationships.
“We are proud of the long established family ethos behind Booth King, and the Manchester base will enable us to be closer to many of our existing clients and complement our head office located in Ramsbottom.”
In addition, the company has recruited Raj Takhar as a director and head of the Manchester.
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ITALIAN restaurant chain Bella Italia is to open at New Brighton’s Marine Point development.
The opening comes as the chain continues its expansion across the UK.
Operated by the Casual Dining Group (CDG), it plans to open 40 new sites by 2017.
An average of 1,000 jobs will be created per year, at locations across the country, an investment trend that Bella Italia expects to continue year on year for the foreseeable future.
The restaurant will take the unit previously occupied by tapas bar and restaurant La Tasca.
CDG, the Bella Italia and Café Rouge operator, acquired La Tasca in September 2015. The deal increases CDG’s UK-wide footprint to 280 restaurants.
The Marine Point unit will undergo a £500,000 refurbishment to coincide with the company’s ‘new look’. Packed full of fun Vespas, cosy booths and quirky Italian style, the restaurant chain is undergoing a new Mediterranean design.
Refurbishment work will begin on site in February, with the new restaurant operating by March.
Marine Point, the £60m regeneration project by Promenade Estates, continues to attract big names to the complex, as the new Bella Italia will join the likes of Marino Lounge, Pizza Express and Prezzo.
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SPACEINVADER, the commercial interior design practice with its HQ in Manchester, has opened a London studio and the appointment of a fourth director.
Diana Monkhouse, previously Interior Principal at Aukett Swanke, has joined the company with more than 20 years’ experience of leading projects for the likes of SMBC NIKKO Capital Markets (One New Change, London), JPM Chase (Frankfurt) and Symantec (in London and Europe), and will spearhead operations in the capital.
