Property people: York Central and McLaren Construction

Karen Stafeckis has been appointed development director of York Central, one of the UK’s largest city centre regeneration schemes.

The expanded team will operate under Tom Gilman, managing director of McLaren Regeneration, and will collaborate with Allan Cook, founder of Arlington Real Estate, the strategic development partners of York Central.

Together, they will drive the transformation of one of the largest brownfield sites in England, working with Homes England and Network Rail Property, as well as partners including the City of York Council and the National Railway Museum.

York Central will deliver 2,500 new homes (20% of which will be affordable) and create up to one million sq ft of office, retail and hospitality space, along with improvements to the York Railway Station and an enhanced National Railway Museum.

Stafeckis will have a strategic role within the York Central team, which includes Jack Widdup, a current development director at McLaren Living, who will focus on York Central, and Joseph Young, a recent graduate joining as a development surveyor.

Tom Gilman, managing director of McLaren Regeneration, said: “York Central is a significant project for York and the UK, which will transform one of the largest brownfield sites into a vibrant and sustainable mixed-use community.

“We are assembling a strong team composed of experienced professionals, with expertise and insights gained from major regional regeneration projects and broad sector knowledge.

“I welcome Karen, Jack and Joseph to the team and very much look forward to working together to deliver an outstanding new quarter for the city of York.”

Stafeckis said: “York Central is one the UK’s most exciting regeneration projects, with huge opportunity and potential.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Tom and the team, our partners, stakeholders and local people to deliver our vision for a highly sustainable place, full of life, vitality and community.

“A key focus for me is to embed and deliver upon the generational environmental and social sustainability commitments and opportunities that this development presents.”

Stafeckis brings extensive experience from her previous role as head of development (North) at CEG – formerly Commercial Estates Group – where she was responsible for significant regeneration projects and partnerships across brownfield land in Leeds and has been involved in the climate agenda both at CEG and with the Leeds Climate Commission.

She will be primarily responsible for the environmental and social sustainability opportunities for all elements of the York Central project, to deliver a highly sustainable place and community.

Widdup will leverage his experience in the residential sector, focussing on the Build to Rent and Co-Living markets.

His role will be critical in guiding the project’s residential strategy and ensuring the successful delivery of the housing component of York Central.

Young, having recently completed his MSc Real Estate Finance at the University of Reading, will support the team across all elements of the development process.

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Luke Arnold

Three new senior roles have been announced within McLaren Construction’s Midlands and North division.

Operations director Luke Arnold, divisional director Darren Harding and regional commercial director Adam Craven, have been appointed to positions within the Midlands and North team as part of its continued growth strategy.

Arnold will be working alongside managing director, Gary Cramp, to expand the Midlands and North business – developing into new sectors through public sector frameworks, alongside building the current teams to deliver success.

He brings 25 years of experience to the role and will be concentrating on building and motivating high performing teams alongside maximising both operational and commercial performance within the region.

He said: “I am extremely proud of my client relationships and my ability to develop long standing relationships with supply chain and customers.

“With a wealth of experience across many different sectors of the industry, along with strong regional knowledge and long-standing customer and supply chain relationships – it’s exciting to have the opportunity to work with Gary and develop the Midlands and North region and I look forward to bringing new opportunities to the business.”

Darren Harding

Harding will be responsible for the full day-to-day responsibility of all PBSA (Purpose Built Student Accommodation) schemes across the Midlands and North regions, continuing to build on the success of the contractor’s completed schemes, whilst building new high-performing site teams for opportunities in the pipeline.

Harding, said: “In my new role I will continue to reinforce my client relationships across the Midlands and North region, while pursuing a variety of varied workload opportunities.

“I thrive on the ‘team building’ aspect of my role by means of listening, nurturing, and encouraging all team members to take full ownership for their roles, which ultimately allows them to grow and develop, while allowing me to build professional and high performing teams.

“The future is looking very positive for the business with a full pipeline of new opportunities.”

Craven will lead and oversee the commercial function within the regional business.

Bringing over 22 years’ experience to the role, his position will include ensuring consistent commercial performance is delivered across the board within the commercial team, at both pre-construction and delivery stages.

Adam Craven

He will provide commercial and management support to the regional director to ensure the financial performance of the region meets and exceeds profitability targets, as well as supporting the group commercial director in all commercial activities across the region and wider business.

Craven said: “I will be pushing to support and develop our people and will be part of continued growth, ensuring it is done so in a sustainable and profitable way.

“While the business has already demonstrated its success and resilience over many years, what really appealed to me and differentiates Mclaren Construction Midlands & North was the empowerment given to me  to influence and make a meaningful difference to an already successful business, as we seek those marginal improvements which will make all the difference.

“With the quality of the existing skillset within the business, together with developing the right recruitment strategy, this will enable us to diversify our workload and allow for controlled, sustainable, and profitable growth.”

Gary Cramp, managing director, added: “We are pleased to welcome Luke, Darren and Adam into their respective roles and are confident their expertise and capabilities will drive the positive change we are spearheading, as part of the division’s growth strategy.”