UK: The demolition of a car park to make way for a Wilde by Staycity aparthotel in Cambridge has been delayed by the withdrawal from the project of contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.
The company said it was unable to proceed as planned due to other schemes stretching its resources. The car park was due to close in early 2021 and reopen in 2023.
This will now be significantly delayed as the design work and tendering process required to secure a new contractor takes place. The council said it would continue to liaise with stakeholders, residents and businesses, and the car park will remain open until the new programme is secured.
The scheme, by developer Marick Real Estate, will feature a 229-key aparthotel, to be operated under Staycity’s Wilde brand, with a public courtyard linking Park Street and Bridge Street, above a basement car park with around 225 public car parking spaces.
This isn’t the first time the scheme has been delayed – work was originally due to start in early 2020.
The scheme will achieve an ‘excellent’ rating with BREEAM, which measures the sustainability of buildings. The aparthotel will include mechanical ventilation heat recovery, air source heat pumps, solar panels,
green walls, bird boxes, a bee hotel and a “living roof”.
Cllr Nicky Massey, executive councillor for transport and community safety, said: “It is disappointing to have to delay start on site at this point. There are, however, some benefits for both the public and local businesses to having the car park open for longer as we move through the current coronavirus crisis. I’m delighted, however, that during these challenging times, this much needed redevelopment of the car park is still progressing and will create employment and economic benefit in both the short and longer term for the city. We will keep in touch with local neighbours, residents, traders and landowners to keep them informed and resolve any issues that arise during the course of the construction project. Our aim, and that of our development partner and their contractor, will be to minimise disruption and get the scheme completed as soon as possible.”
Marcus Boret of Marick Real Estate said: “There has been considerable progress since we last reported this scheme. We now have a lot of data on the site following our intrusive investigations and monitoring. This, coupled with comprehensive detailed design, has allowed us to gain critical feedback from main and specialist subcontractors for logistics, complicated boundary designs, and programme coordination, all of which will allow us to minimise the disruption when we deliver this project.”
