Building Briefs – July 11th

Aarsleff appoints new operations manager

Specialist ground engineering contractor Aarsleff Ground Engineering has appointed Jody Parkin as operations director.

With over 17 years’ experience in all piling and geotechnical techniques, Jody has been responsible for moving Aarsleff’s piling department forward since joining as piling manager in early 2017.

Parkin’s experience and knowledge comes from Cementation Skanska where he was operations manager on several major Crossrail contracts including Royal Oak Portal, Farringdon WTH and Bond Street. Parkin was also responsible for delivering the foundation solution to the target building of European Spallation Source in Lund, Sweden.

In his new role, Jody will be responsible for the global operations in the UK, including plant operations, along with reinforcing Aarsleff’s business strategy and it’s ‘One Company’ mission within the UK.

New website for Brunton Design

Carnoustie-based Brunton Design has launched a new website at www.bruntondesign.com.

The launch comes at a busy time for the architectural practice as one major project nears completion and another enters the planning phase.

The Friockheim Community Hub, which is due to open soon, has involved the redevelopment of the town’s former Eastgate Primary school to form a centre which will provide services and facilities for the surrounding area including small business offices and a café, meeting rooms, a nursery and a gym.

Now Brunton is preparing plans for an exciting new £6 million development in Dundee city centre. Following two years of positive and encouraging negotiations with the planning department, Bruntons propose to develop a site in Marketgait into a flagship building with 43 apartments above shops and a restaurant.

The site, currently a Shell filling station, is in a sensitive position, next to a B-listed former mill.

Allan Mudie, a partner at Brunton Design, said: “The design is sensitive to the setting. This will be an important new building for Dundee outside the waterfront.”

The firm’s new website highlights the fact that Brunton Design has had a consistently high workload irrespective of the peaks and troughs in the construction industry.

Chris Stewart Group sells Greenside

Chris Stewart Group (CSG) has confirmed that the award-winning Greenside office building in the burgeoning east end of Edinburgh’s city centre, has been acquired by Leading Cities Invest (LCI), a real estate investment fund managed by Frankfurt-based KanAm Grund Group.

The five storey office building, covering 38,000sq ft, was purchased by CSG in 2016, with funding support from the Government-backed SPRUCE initiative, after it had lain empty for a number of years.

The Scottish-based property investor and developer undertook an extensive refurbishment of Greenside to maximise its aspect and appeal to the city’s technology businesses and the building, completed in autumn 2017, is currently 85 per cent let, with only 5,000 sq ft remaining.

Greenside is the first property acquired by LCI in Scotland, and follows investments in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK. Both parties have agreed to keep the sales price confidential.

This latest deal by the Chris Stewart Group team follows the sale of 20 West Register Street. The 60,000 sq ft office building which is being built as part of CSG’s Edinburgh city centre regeneration project, The Registers, has been acquired by the international real estate firm, Hines, in a forward purchase arrangement, for its European Core Fund.

Linthouse Housing Association appoint new director of asset management

Linthouse Housing Association (LHA) has announced the appointment of Gail Sherriff as its new director of asset management and depute CEO.

Gail will bring 30 years of experience in delivering comprehensive tenement improvements to pre-1919 tenements, delivering new build developments, alternative tenures, and detailed knowledge of asset management and procurement to this new post.

Gail will play a key role in the Association’s senior management team and will lead on LHA’s drive for improvement in the quality of its homes and services.

Gail will take up her post on September 3.

Community Open Day to showcase new council homes in Forfar

As new tenants prepare to move in to new homes delivered on a revitalised Forfar landmark, Angus Council wants to give the community a chance to see just how new life has been breathed into a building and grounds that had until recently been surplus to need.

An Open Day is being held at Academy Court on Saturday 14 July, from 10am – 2pm. The event will give the community, former pupils and staff among them, a chance to see the transformation before tenants move.

The B-listed former Chapelpark school buildings have been reimagined and developed into 29 high quality affordable homes for social rent - comprising of 18 one bedroom flats, 6 two bedroom flats, 1 three bedroom flat, as well as 4 new-build five bedroom townhouses. Six of these properties are suitable for households with particular needs.

The new-build homes are designed to complement the surrounding properties and still maintain their own individual identity. High levels of thermal insulation, air tightness and passive solar gain, coupled with careful use of non-toxic materials, provide comfortable, efficient and healthy homes. The properties meet barrier-free design criteria and include a range of home safety measures including sprinkler systems.

This ambitious and attractive development guarantees the future protection and enjoyment of a well-known local building that has fulfilled a major role in the community over many years.