Building Briefs – February 22nd

TransCanada Turbines (TCT), a North American owned and managed engineering company, has become the latest business to bring its UK headquarters into Clyde Gateway, adding to the continued success of Scotland’s largest regeneration programme.

TCT, which repairs and maintains aero-derivative gas turbines for the oil and energy markets, has signed a pre-let with Glasgow-based developers Harris Finance for a 10-year lease on a 13,000 sq ft speculatively built industrial unit at Rutherglen Links Business Park.

The new premises, which sits within a multi-million pound development created by Clyde Gateway, will become home to TCT’s 15-strong highly skilled Scottish workforce. It will also contain a specialised training centre, the largest the company will have outside of Canada.

The building has been fitted out precisely to TCT’s specifications and is ready for the company’s relocation from its existing shared premises in Cumbernauld, with the move set to be complete by early March.

Clyde Gateway created Rutherglen Links Business Park to provide development opportunities. All five industrial plots of the 5.6 acre (2.26 Ha) Business Park were acquired by Harris Finance, who have undertaken a speculative development programme of industrial units. The first phase has already secured occupiers Screwfix and Eurocell, and following the pre-let of unit 3 to TCT, the developer has already started work on unit 4 to provide an additional 15,000 sq ft of industrial space due for completion in summer 2018. Further capacity is available on the adjacent plots F and G. These will be developed in line with market demand, however based on the success of deals achieved to date, further pre-let activity is anticipated.

Council to grant £1m towards restoration of Citizens Theatre

Glasgow City Council has today approved additional grant funding of £1 million for the £19.4m Citizens Theatre redevelopment project.

This brings the total of funding support for the project from the council to £5m.

The Citizens Theatre is a world-renowned organisation which has brought many outstanding productions to the stage since its formation in 1943, and the redevelopment will be the first comprehensive renovation of the building in its 140-year history.

The condition of the building is now such that it presents a risk for its long-term operation, with the cost of emergency repairs impacting on its budgets for performance, community and audience development work. The project team has been working with officers from Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life to get to this stage, and the redevelopment work required to transform the council-owned building is due to start on site later this year with completion expected by December 2020.

While the redevelopment work is taking place, the theatre’s administrative, box office and learning functions will relocate to Scotland Street School Museum, with the museum open as normal. Other functions - carpentry, lighting, rehearsals, stage management and wardrobe - will relocate to City Building’s Skills Academy in the Gorbals, and a number of performances will take place in Tramway. The Citizens Theatre also plans to tour its work during the period of closure.

Housing minister visits Hillcrest affordable housing development in Dundee

Minister for local government and housing, Kevin Stewart MSP, was in Dundee yesterday to visit the site of a new affordable housing development which will bring 163 new homes to the city.

A partnership between Hillcrest Housing Association and Dundee City Council, the Derby Street development will deliver a mixture of mainstream and assisted living flats and houses, providing a significant boost for the area in providing much-needed affordable housing that is fit for the needs of the community.

The overall development comprises 83 units for Dundee City Council to the north part of the site (in a mixture of mainstream flats and houses and assisted living flats and houses) and 80 units for Hillcrest to the south part of the site - all are mainstream housing but a mixture of social (58) and mid-market rent (22).

The development on this site is being supported by a loan of £7 million from Allia through its charitable bond scheme with the Scottish Government.

Main contractor Robertson Partnership Homes, who were appointed through the Scape Framework, will start on site in the coming month with a completion date of 2019.

Trust awarded £278,000 to restore A-listed windmill site

A trust which plans to buy an 18th century windmill into community ownership is among eight projects sharing £1.2 million in financial support.

Carluke Development Trust (CDT) in South Lanarkshire receives £278,000 to bring the High Mill site into community ownership. The A-listed mill the most complete windmill of its type in Scotland.

The trust is one of eight groups sharing £1.2 million from the Scottish Land Fund for community ownership projects.

Others include the Straiton Village Cooperative, which receives £275,500, and Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre SCIO which is awarded £68,262.

RSM concludes sale of DundeeOne

The DundeeOne office building has been sold to Jute Property for an undisclosed sum following the appointment of Paul Dounis and William Duncan of RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP as Joint Administrators over the Lindores Property Group in 2016.

The development, DundeeOne, River Court, boast 50,000 sq ft Grade A, flexible office space in the heart of the £1 billion regeneration of Dundee’s waterfront.

The joint administrators have also recently submitted a joint planning application for the adjacent development site for 120 affordable units with associated parking, green space, cycle and refuse storage and a retail unit.