Builder pens £80m contract with university
CONSTRUCTION company Lendlease has signed an £80m contract with Liverpool John Moores University.
It has been appointed to undertake the enabling works and pre-construction services as principal contractor at the former Royal Mail sorting office at Copperas Hill, which is to be redeveloped into a flagship, state-of-the-art university building.
Lendlease is the university’s preferred bidder for the whole project and already has staff on site surveying the existing structure, in order to strip it back to its frame ahead of developing it into a university building.
The Copperas Hill development is expected to create a significant focal point for LJMU, and for the area of Liverpool city centre where it is located, opposite Lime Street Station. It will create a gateway to Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, and bring together the university’s Mount Pleasant and Byrom Street campuses.
Simon Gorski, executive general Manager of UK Regions for Lendlease, said: “We’re really pleased to be getting underway with our work at Copperas Hill, which has been described as a “transformational” investment for LJMU.
“The challenge of retaining the existing and very prominent structure and utilising it to create an iconic and inspirational multi-purpose facility is really exciting.”
The new building will house the University’s three libraries, which will be combined into one facility, a central teaching unit with lecture theatres and seminar rooms, and study zones and IT suites.
Sports facilities on the site will include an eight-court sports hall, a gym and dance studios, while the building will also house offices for the Liverpool Students’ Union and spaces for other services including a careers centre and cafes.
Two new mezzanine floors will be added to the existing structure, and the roof developed to allow use for sports and recreation, with the total floor area of the building increasing from an existing 280,000sq ft to 355,500sq ft.
The enabling work is due to complete in August, and Lendlease is hoping to commence the main construction works in the summer, with a view to delivering a completed building in the first half of 2018.
The design team for the project comprises BDP Architects, Curtins Structural Engineers and Arup Building Services Engineer.
Major projects which Lendlease has undertaken in the North include MediaCity UK, the Trafford Centre, Liverpool Arena and the award-winning Enterprise South Liverpool Academy (ESLA) project.
