Building Briefs – February 9th

In the largest letting in Scotland since the EU referendum, global management, engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald has concluded terms to move to the St Vincent Plaza office scheme in Glasgow city centre.

The business is relocating its office from 1 Atlantic Quay in mid-2017 and will take the entire 5th and 6th floors of the development comprising 34,515 sq ft on a new 15 year lease from February 2017.

Plans for their fit out are well advanced and it is envisaged that work will begin shortly in advance of occupation in the summer.

With a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ environmental accreditation, the St Vincent Plaza development provides the most cost effective new build city centre office accommodation anywhere in the UK.

Inverness to gain new hotel after £4.4m deal

Maven Capital Partners’ property arm has acquired an office building in the centre of Inverness in a multi-million-pound deal that will see it converted into a budget hotel.

Ballantyne House, which is currently vacant and extends to 23,000 square feet, is set to be leased to Travelodge on a 25-year term.

Maven Property said it had funded the project through a combination of a £2m investment via its UK-wide co-investor network and a bank loan totalling £2.4m.

The conversion, which is being undertaken by developer Drum Property Group, is expected to be completed by late 2017 and, once open, the hotel will provide 54 rooms across five floors and include a bar/café area.

Demolition work begins at site of Dundee high school

Demolition work has started to bring down buildings on the site of the former Menzieshill High in Dundee.

The city’s councillors voted to close the school after the roll fell below 500.

Pupils were moved to the newly refurbished Harris Academy, taking up their places at the start of the current school year last August.

Bathgate demolition company Dem Master Demolition Ltd was awarded the contract last year, successfully tendering £547,431 to carry out the work.

Work complete on new Stirling footpath

Construction work has been completed on a new footpath in Stirling.

The scheme in Killearn was carried out to create a safer route from Beech Drive to the back gate of Killearn Primary School.

The project was funded using civic realm funding and the extension was completed by Stirling Council roads and land officers.

Fife road improvement scheme to begin

A £170,000 road improvement project is to begin in Fife.

Fife Council will start carrying out carriageway resurfacing on Links Street in Kirkcaldy from 13 February.

The four-week project will be delivered over four phases, with each phase taking one week to complete. Works will start on Pratt Street and end at Milton Road and Nicol Street.

For safety reasons, the works will be carried out over a total road closure from Monday to Friday. Diversions will be in place.

Enabling works to begin on A90 bridge demolition

Enabling works are to begin for the next stage of the A90 bridge demolition and reconstruction project at Stonehaven.

As part of the Aberdeen Western peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) project, traffic management will be installed on the A90 southbound carriageway on Sunday, 12 February.

The lane closure, which will be in place for a two-week period by 6am on 13 February, will enable the contractor to install safety barriers as well as undertake enabling works.

In addition, an overnight lane closure will still be in place on the northbound carriageway each night between 8pm – 6am.

The works at Stonehaven require the existing A90 bridge to be demolished and replaced. These works will initially focus on demolishing and replacing the southbound carriageway. Once this is complete, the northbound carriageway will be demolished and replaced.

Toolstation marks 14 branch openings across Scotland

Trade supplies firm Toolstation is marking its continuing success in Scotland with 14 branches now open, creating over 100 jobs for people across the country.

Glasgow Possilpark and Ayr - Toolstation’s 250th store to open - are among the most recent branches to open in Scotland.

In excess of 30 new branches are planned to date to open across the country in 2017.

Dundee care home plans submitted

Plans for a care home which will keep vulnerable young parents and their babies together have been lodged with Dundee City Council.

Architect Mark Walker submitted proposals on behalf of the Carolina House Trust (CHT), a charity which specialises in providing care and support for vulnerable young people.

The proposal, for an address in Clepington Road, would see the house transformed into a care unit to keep young parents and their kids together.

Similar plans have also been submitted for Tarvit Cottage in Cupar, which CHT owns, to accommodate more young people at the Fife location.