Overview

 

Finzels Reach is spearheading the transformation of the medieval heart of Bristol and raising the bar for regeneration in regional UK cities, it is one of the largest mixed use regeneration projects in the South West.

 

The 4.7 acre site has a rich history – originally this central site was occupied by Courage Brewery, who withdrew in 1991 leading the site to fall into disarray and was closed off to the public for over 20 years. A far cry from the thriving mixed use community you will find there today with over 700,000 sq ft  of Grade A offices, new build residential, leisure and hospitability.

It was acquired from receivers after a previous attempt to regenerate it ran into difficulties and had left the site derelict.

 

Over the past 4 years the site has rapidly transformed following our appointment to prepare a market facing masterplan and programme of works commencing with a 3m landscaping works programme and several planning applications for new apartments, a new pedestrian bridge, retail, hotel and office accommodation. 

 

On acquisition the site had a single 115,000 sq. ft. office building (only 25% let) and 140 residential apartments of which half lay empty and unsold.

 

We worked directly with Cubex over the past four years creating a new community on the site with over £100 million worth of office space, £100 million worth of residential space, and nearly £50 million worth of leisure space.

 

By 2019 some 2,500 people will be living and working at Finzels Reach, with 437 new apartments, alongside 240,000 sq. ft. of new office space. It will become a magnet for the public and tourists with 30,000 sq. ft. of shops, restaurants, a micro-brewery and a 168 -bedroom new Premier Inn hotel.

 

Integrated into the site, will be Aurora – a 95,000sq ft. grade-A, BREEAM outstanding office building, set to open in 2018, which will help reduce the acute shortage of office space in the city. This follows the refurbishment of Bridgewater House, an 115,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office accommodation now fully let to EDF, BDO and Barclays Wealth.

 

The complex of new apartment buildings – from the affordable-housing Hop Store (where one-bed apartments start from £185,000) through to the height of city living luxury – is almost entirely sold, with 130 apartments purchased and just three remaining.

 

The entire site has been designed to encompass a hybrid of the sites original medieval roots with narrow pathways winding through high buildings, cobbled streets and a complete absence of cars alongside cutting edge contemporary design, delivering a vibrant place where the people of Bristol wish to live, work and socialise.

 

The jewel in the new development has been the erection of the brand new £3.7m iconic S-shaped Bridge connecting Castle Park with Finzels Reach, which will further knit the Finzels Reach site back into the fabric of the city.

 

Finzels Reach has brought c. £250m of investment to the city of Bristol and has unlocked the regeneration of a neglected area of the city centre.

 

This development has injected a new lease of life to Bristol city centre attracting new occupiers, international investors and media attention that it has not seen for decades.

 

Wider benefits to the city include new sustainable transport routes, with the new bridge and overhauled ferry stop to link transport modes, and pedestrian and cycle routes across the site.

 

Full public consultation has taken place before each planning application, all of which have been approved.

 

The challenges of delivering multiple buildings at the same time on such a dense site, which already has occupiers, has been tackled by hands-on management by the development team and strong community engagement.

 

Palmer Capital, created a unique funding consortium comprising the original Middle East based Sharia borrower (enabling them to recover lost equity), an Asian SWF (its first UK Investment) and a UK pension fund.

 

Responsibilities

  

·Prepared concept proposals, planning, tender and contract information for the following schemes:

• Castle Wharf Apartment Block;

• Cask Store Apartment Block;

• Pedestrian & Cycle Bridge;

• Finzels Building Apartment Block

• Georges Wharf Apartments;

• Hawkins Lane North Apartments;

• Hawkins Lane South Apartments;

• Fermentation North Building (Retail & Office );

• Fermentation South Building (Retail);

• Wellhead Building (Retail);

• Premier Inn Hotel;

• Temple Plot Residential Scheme;

• Generator Building (Residential & Office Proposals);

• Bridgewater House (CAT A & CAT B).

 

Design Development

 

• Ensured local authority compliance and building regulations compliance;

• Implemented correct design standards;

• Responsibility for technical detailing of projects;

• Shared responsibility for defining and updating the brief;

• Preparation of NBS specifications;

• Coordination of all consultant and sub-contractor packages;

• Review of all drawing packages prior to issue.

  

Documentation

 

• Track the issuance of all drawings and specifications;

• Monitor and ensure smooth progress for all local authority submissions;

• Monitoring compliance with planning and building regulation requirements.

• Responsibility for resource tracking schedules 

  

Consultant Coordination

 

• Coordinated design team meetings with relevant sub-consultants;

• Minuted meetings, with actions and pending dates;

• Commented on and integrated sub-consultants and sub-contractors information;

• Ensured construction drawings were fully coordinated with sub-consultants information; 

• Ensured all sub-consultants reviewed and agreed to programme of deliverables;

• Tracked drawing issues to sub-consultants and their issue of information;

• Ensured sub- consultant's scope of work is completed at each stage

  

Management

  

• Responsibility for the management of the project deliverables;

• ·Responsibility for communicating all aspects of project deliverables to Senior Management; 

•  Assist my Director with overall project management;

• ·Ensure soft and hard project files are maintained office standards;

  

Resources

  

• ·Constantly review resources available against those required for successful project implementation and advise my Director on shortfalls;

• Ensure team members were briefed and implemented overarching specification objects;

• Review drawing schedules and approve.

 

  

Planning

  

• Ensured necessary time is allowed for each stage of deliverables, utilising experience on previous projects;

• Ensured my Director was updated on progress and programme.

 

Communication

  

• Ensure constant communication with the assigned project team;

• Take minutes for all formal meetings; 

• File notes for all informal discussions/meetings.

  

Liaison

  

Ensure constant liaison with the following:

a) Client

b) Consultants

c) Contractor

d) Suppliers

e) Manufacturers

f) Statutory Authority

  

Post Contract Coordination

  

• Ensure constant communication with the post contract team and advise on site related maintenance issues;

• Reviewed and advised on specialist sub-contractors’ design and shop drawings;

• Liaised with post contract team to ensure any alterations or amendments on site are as per local authority regulations;

• Ensured issuance of relevant ‘Final Construction’ drawings and documents at the appropriate time to the site team and contractor.