Construction company appointed to £33m student residence scheme
Pillars, the company behind the recently approved £50m luxury residential project PR1, reached a new milestone for its second major project in Preston.
The developer, which has offices around the world, including in Blackburn and London, has appointed Bolton-based Truman Design and Build as main building contractor for Urban Hub – a high-spec student housing development located on the UCLAN Campus.
The six-storey Urban Hub, will cover more than 160,000 sq ft, containing 425 self-contained studio apartments, private outdoor spaces, an exclusive gym, restaurant, cafe, cinema, prayer room, laundry room, library and a andscaped roof terrace.
Demolition work on the Sizer House building, currently used as UCLAN offices, is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks, with full construction thereafter.
A Pillars spokesperson said: “Trumans have a proven track record of delivering high-quality, award-winning projects and we are very pleased to have appointed them to deliver our Urban Hub project.
“Truman Design and Build have exceeded our expectations with a collaborative approach to cost, programme and quality-driven mindset.
“Throughout the whole process, the relationship between Pillars/Truman and the design team has proven that the open book approach has been extremely beneficial to driving this project to deliver a first-class project.”
Preston proves to be the perfect place for development of this kind with its ever-growing student hub, said Pillars.
The region is in the midst of a £430m 10-year development master plan that will improve everything from outdoor spaces, health facilities to public transport, and the university itself is in the process of an exciting £200m facelift.
On top of this, Preston has excellent international links thanks to its proximity to two major airports, and the city has previously been singled out as the best place to live and work in the North West.
“The Urban Hub ticks all the boxes,” Pillars’ spokesperson added.
“It will attract students looking for comfort and class on the one hand, whilst also bringing recurring returns to investors at an affordable price point, and in a totally hands-off manner.”
Pillars will play a pivotal role in the further development of the city over the coming years, and this event marks another step forward in its strategy to deliver 1,500 homes by 2025.
