Property round up: Port Sunlight; Helix; New Park Primary & more

A £6.5m retirement living complex in the garden village of Port Sunlight on the Wirral has been completed.

Some 58 affordable one and two-bedroom apartments in the picturesque village – conceived by Unilever founder Lord Leverhulme – are designed for the over 55 age group.

It was commissioned by Sanctuary Housing, delivered by Seddon Construction, and designed by Paddock Partnership.

The design necessitated close collaboration with Wirral Council Planning Authority and English Heritage and adopts the vernacular architectural character, language and materials of Port Sunlight.

The scheme was developed on a restricted brownfield site within tight financial constraints and elevational restraints imposed by the domestic scale of the village setting.

It is the largest residential block on the village, where nearly every building is Listed, and its mass is substantially disguised through embracing the architecture, theatre and spirit of the village.

The building was designed to Code Level 3 and intrinsic to this was Lifetime Homes, Secured by Design and environmental sustainability.

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HELIX, on behalf of Harmsworth Pension Fund Trustees has sold the freehold interest in Unit 185 Bradkirk Place, Walton Summit Centre, Bamber Bridge, Preston to a private buyer for £415,000, reflecting a net initial yield of 11.5%.

The property comprises 10,992sq ft of warehouse space let to ADMC Holding Ltd on a lease expiring on 2nd November 2015, at an annual rent of £36,000.

Robert Pinkus & Co advised Helix and the purchaser was unrepresented.

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THE story of a new £5m primary school in Liverpool is told in a new book written by three of its pupils.

‘Our New School’ has been penned by children in years two, four and six at New Park Primary School in Kensington and published following a story writing competition.

The new building – which is being officially opened by Mayor Joe Anderson today (Wednesday November 4) – replaces the previous structure which was more than 100 years old.

Pupils will also unveil a special sculpture detailing the remarkable history of the school’s site.

In the 1800s it was home to Liverpool Botanical Gardens – which was second only to Kew Gardens in London in terms of the quality of its collection, and Liverpool Zoological Gardens which had caged lions and tigers with antelope running free.

The new school includes a dedicated cooking room, 4D immersive learning space, outdoor classrooms with canopies and a ‘Spanish Step’ area for assemblies and performances.

It is part of a £169m scheme which is seeing 17 new and refurbished schools funded through a mix of investment from the Government and contributions from the council.

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A SIX-figure project to create a new 12,809sq ft motorbike dealership for Bowker Motor Group at Riversway Docks, Preston is complete.

The facility, designed by Preston-based architectural and planning consultancy practice, Cassidy + Ashton and built by JK Beardsworth, included a 4,632sq ft extension to the two-storey nautical-themed building on site of the former Preston Docks customs office.

The development comprises a BMW Motorrad showroom to the ground floor with space for more than 40 display bikes, as well as servicing and workshop facilities.

The first floor has become the new administrative and marketing headquarters for the Bowker Motor Group, with a suite of contemporary offices, male and female changing rooms and an employee shower block for those who cycle to work.

The showroom, known as Bowker Motorrad, is the group’s tenth dealership and has created 10 new jobs.

Located opposite to Bowker MINI and Bowker BMW, it takes the vehicle giant’s total footprint on Riversway to more than six acres.

Lawrence McBurney, associate architect at Cassidy + Ashton, said: “This scheme was an interesting one for us as it not only needed to work from a quality commercial perspective but also meet the needs of the head office staff.

“The new showroom is a landmark addition to Bowker’s lucrative dealership portfolio and with its eye-catching design and prominent positioning, we are confident that it will drive forward the group’s presence in the motorcycle industry.”

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PALLADIUM Group has unveiled plans to transform and rebrand Liverpool office buildings Nations House and Stanley Hall after acquiring them in August for £2.7m.

The company has appointed CBRE’s Liverpool Office Agency team as joint agent with Hitchcock Wright and Partners to market the properties.

The two adjacent buildings in Liverpool’s Central Business District, offer a total of 40,603sq ft of office accommodation and have been renamed Helix (formerly Nations House) and Honeycomb (formerly Stanley Hall).

Both properties are currently undergoing major refurbishment with the completed office buildings eventually offering refurbished accommodation along with showers, a roof garden, bike storage, a breakout area and meeting spaces.

Existing tenants include Sainsbury’s Supermarkets, Matthews & Goodman and Haskoning UK.

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ADEPT Civil and Structural Consulting Engineers has expanded into Manchester with the launch of a new city centre office.

The new base for the Leeds-headquartered company is in the grade II-listed Sevendale House, one of the most prominent buildings in Manchester’s Stevenson Square conservation area, close to Piccadilly Gardens in the city’s Northern Quarter.

The office will initially be headed up by Adept director Richard Parker and staffed by team members from the company’s Leeds office, with plans in place to recruit a senior engineer to manage the office along with several supporting engineers and technicians, over the coming months.

Projects that Adept is currently working on in Manchester include Marshall Construction’s £20m transformation of Gateway House, known as the ‘lazy S’ building, next to Piccadilly Station, into a 182-bedroom aparthotel that incorporates retail and office space. 

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MANCHESTER-based chartered surveyor and property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall has launched a new integrated asset advisory service for businesses following the appointment of a debt and working capital management specialist.

Chris Brooke has been installed as associate partner within the asset based lending (ABL) valuation and advisory department.

He joins Christian Humphreys, partner, and Lee Joyce, associate partner, in delivering their specialist ABL service to financial lenders, insolvency practitioners, corporate recovery specialists and private equity houses operating within a wide range of industry sectors.

Brooke’s appointment means Sanderson Weatherall is able to offer new services such as accounts receivable collateral review and audit, debtor ledger collect out management and debt advisory consultancy services.

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PLACEFIRST’S new PRS development in the historic West End of Morecambe, Lancashire, is complete.

West End One – formerly known as Chatsworth Gardens – is a bespoke collection of 51 houses and apartments, including one, two, three and four-bedroom homes.

The development is based on the remodelling of 27 empty former guesthouses, and includes a central, landscaped courtyard created through the removal of rear yards and outriggers.

West End One will be followed by a second phase West End Two, and is anticipated to include housing 55 units across also including homes of up to four bedrooms.

PlaceFirst says the homes will set new standards in renting in Morecambe and market interest has been very strong ahead of the official launch in November.

It currently has 200 registers of interest for 51 homes and is currently taking applications for the four-bedroom houses which will be released in December 2015.