The project comprises 193 one, two and three bedroom apartments over two interconnected blocks – one six and one seven storey – linked by ground floor retail units on the waterfront boulevard.
The project began this month and is set to complete in spring 2021. Designed by Manchester architects AHR, the building features a communal garden atop the single story retail space, a striking white pre-cast concrete façade with bronze panels and punched balconies overlooking the dockyard beyond.
The scheme is part of Peel L&P’s £650million Chatham Waters Masterplan, bringing more than 950 homes and 430,000 sq ft of commercial office space to the 10.5ha former naval dockyard. The initial phases of development involved the delivery of the Waterfront University Technical College, the Mast and Rigging family pub, and an Asda Superstore, which was also built by Russells Construction.
Following further infrastructure investment, Peel L&P has commenced the residential-led Phase 2. The apartment block, forward funded by private equity firm Long Harbour, is the first private rented sector scheme from Peel L&P at Chatham Waters.
Neil Baumber, Residential Development Director at Peel L&P said: “We’re pleased to see this exciting residential development at Chatham Waters get underway with Russells Construction. We’ve worked with the team on developments in both Manchester and Kent and we are confident in their deliverability of the project having had the Russells team involved throughout the planning and design phase.”
Russells has committed to a local employment charter, ensuring local trades benefit from the construction project. In addition to its in-house senior management team, Russells has supplemented its skills with locally-recruited project managers and is sourcing local suppliers where possible. In addition, students from the neighbouring Waterfront Technical College will be invited to visit site, undertake work experience and learn from the project from the outset, as part of Russells’ and Peel L&P’s CSR commitments.
Andrew Russell, director at Russells Construction, said: “We’re pleased to be working with Peel L&P once again. They are an exacting client but one that appreciates the hard work and planning which goes into designing and ensuring the buildability of a £33.5million project.
“The collaborative approach we have developed with Peel L&P will provide an interesting learning experience for the construction students, helping them to understand how utilising the skills of an experienced contractor like Russells can substantially benefit the project in terms of design, budget and timescale. There are challenges to this scheme, primarily with regards its proximity to the water, which will make it an interesting project for the students to study.”
