Final support beam added as Island Quarter reaches milestone in plans for the area
The Island Quarter takes step closer to completion with plans to build food halls and galleries in the future
From the top of an incredible height, Nottingham World watched as the final structural beam was placed into the student accommodation that is being built on Manvers Road. The new building is part of the regeneration plans for The Island Quarter which will, when finished, incorporate everything from office spaces to hotels to food and drink venues.
The site has been derelict for many years but last year, it welcomed phase one of the project, Binks Yard which opened as a bar, live music venue and fine dining restaurant. The student accommodation is fast on its way to completion to house 700 students from autumn.
With two major universities in the city, there has been an increase in students needing accommodation of approximately 30 per cent since 2016. Nottingham City Council estimates that there is a shortfall of around 5,500 accommodation spaces across the city.
The block is currently under construction by Bowmer + Kirkland and will transfer to Fresh who will manage the site when it is completed. There is much planned for the site including an open-air street gallery, food halls and more live music events such as the ones held at Binks Yard. However, the biggest difficulty for developers may be - how do you get the people back in?
Richard Watson is the Head of Project Delivery of the site: “Three years ago this was a derelict site which it has been for thirty years. We’ve had thousands of people partying outside Binks at three big parties. We want to look at how we get people back into the area and have been doing this with different activities. We want to bring life back into the area as this site has been derelict for far too long.”
Plans are in place for a lot more which will see the empty space around Binks Yard, the building works and the abandoned partially-listed warehouse near Virgin Active transformed. This will include new homes both student and residential, office spaces, creative spaces, lifestyle hotel, PRS apartments, co-working spaces, retail units, a ‘linear’ park and community event spaces.
“We have consent for over 250 apartments which will be buy to rent along with a 220-bed hotel and offices. We see a real shortfall in Nottingham’s rental apartments and we want to upgrade the hotel offerings here. We want to create one area where you can live, work and play but the whole thing can be encapsulated into one environment,” he said.
The Conygar Investment Company - the developer behind the scheme - has also recently received planning permission for nearly 250,000 sq ft of bioscience and laboratory space which will be situated next to the student accommodation.
Christopher Ware, property director at Conygar, said: “Topping out is a significant milestone in any construction programme, but in this case, it is especially important as it brings us a step closer to fulfilling our plans for The Island Quarter as a whole.
“From the very outset, we wanted The Island Quarter to be an exemplar of intergenerational living, and this high-quality student accommodation will not only help us reach those ambitions but also strengthen the offer that Nottingham has for students, ensuring we get the highest calibre of students in our city and attending our universities.”