Work underway on £11.5m student scheme as contractor appointed
WORK is now underway on a multi-million pound student accommodation scheme on in York, after development company S Harrison appointed Robertson as the main contractor.
The £6m contract will see the firm, which is part of the £300m turnover infrastructure group Robertson, transform the Grade II listed former working men’s club and The Tam O’ Shanter public house on Lawrence Street into a 115-bedroom student accommodation scheme, complete with communal work space and leisure facilities including a gym and cinema.
Chris Hale from York-based S Harrison said: “The main building within this development has stood empty for almost a decade so it’s great to see work start to bring it back to life. Robertson has vast experience in the student accommodation sector so we are delighted to be working with them and are extremely confident in the capabilities of the team to deliver on this project.”
Paul Turner, regional managing director of Robertson Yorkshire and East Midlands, said: “Both the University of York and York St John University have grown at a rapid rate in recent years so quality student accommodation is therefore highly sought after in this area. We look forward to delivering a high specification development for future students in York.”
The development will offer a mix of studios and flats with one, two, three and five bedrooms.
Work is scheduled to complete in time for the 2017/18 academic year and Empiric Student Property, which acquired the scheme earlier this year, will manage and market the accommodation through its Hello Student platform.
