Quartermile

[maccoinnich]

From the Edinburgh Evening News:

Buyers lining up for Edinburgh flat with views worth £2m

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY

SCOTLAND'S most expensive apartment is set to go on the market on the site of the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
The three-storey penthouse is part of the latest stage of the Quartermile development and will have a price tag of at lease £2 million.

It is due to come on to the market in the summer and developers say they have already had strong interest in it.

Despite concerns about the strength of the property market, agents say demand at the top end has been maintained and are confident a sale will be made.

The four-bedroom triplex is part of Q16, a new-build between the converted Blake Hall and Balfour Hall buildings.

Among the features expected in the apartment are air conditioning, a surround-sound TV and hi-fi system with speakers in every room, solid oak flooring and even a tile television in the master bedroom's en suite bathroom.

But the biggest selling point is expected to be the 360-degree views across the Meadows, up to Edinburgh Castle and across to Arthur's Seat, Blackford Hill and Salisbury Crags.

Aisling Dunphy, sales and marketing director for Quartermile developer Gladedale Capital, said: "The location and the view is what stuns people. The view up there is unrivalled."

Faisal Choudhry, a researcher for estate agent Savills, said £2m could buy a New Town townhouse or a detached home in a good area with up to two acres of land. He said: "They are very expensive but within any new-build development there is always the one-off penthouse, and I would expect there to be buyers in the market.

"There is nothing wrong with exploiting the premiums that people will pay for views across Edinburgh.

"It remains to be seen if an apartment can attract £2m. It is a big asking price and it might happen because it is a one-off, but it will have to be a lot bigger than the penthouses that sold for £1.5m."

The penthouse will be part of the next phase of the scheme to come on to the market. The newly-built structure will house 28 flats of varying sizes and is next to the 25-flat conversion of Balfour Hall.

Penthouses in the previous new-build properties, High Meadows, have sold for up to £1.5m.

Further development on the site could include even bigger – and more expensive – penthouse apartments, depending on demand for the next phase.

WHAT COULD YOU BUY FOR YOUR £2M?
A townhouse on the same street as Robert Louis Stevenson used to live – 7 Heriot Row – sold for £1.95m last year.

• A detached family home with two acres of land at 64 Dreghorn Loan fetched £2m in March 2007.

• A 1914 detached family home in Colinton – The Stonehouse at 1 Pentland Road – sold for £2.05m last year.

• 40 one-bedroom flats in Bo'ness, currently on the market for offers over £49,995

• 13 bookies' shops – Edinburgh bookmaker Morrisons bought the Scottish operations of Irish counterpart Sean Graham for £2m in March.

• Kevin Thomson – the former Hibs midfielder signed for Rangers for £2m in January 2007

• The right to make Hearts' football strip. Umbro paid the Jambos £2m in February 2007 for the rights to manufacture kits for two years

[belle]

Forgot to report back after visiting the showflat.

Stunning views over the Meadows to the Pentlands. No privacy at all in the bedrooms, particularly the master. Finish is high quality, hotel bland. I feel sorry for whovere's bought the ground floor flats as it looks like their going to have to live with the curtains drawn/blinds down. Unless their exhibitionists. If they are, I hope they're gorgeous.

[maccoinnich]

From the Edinburgh Evening News:

Quartermile space unveiled as prime site for Fringe shows

Published Date: 07 May 2008

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY

IT is a far cry the hustle and bustle of hospital life that this area was once known for.
A stylish public square, lined with restaurants and pavement cafes, was today unveiled as the centrepiece of the giant Quartermile development.

The square – in the heart of the old site of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Lauriston Place – may eveADVERTISEMENTn become home to live music and Fringe performances.

Colin MacPherson, development director Gladedale Capital, the firm behind Quartermile, predicted the new square will really come alive during the festival season.

Colin MacPherson, Gladedale's development director, said: "We want it to be busy and a small stage could be set up – especially at festival time – to help make that happen. This whole side of town is already changing and will continue to in the next few years.

"The university is already doing work next door and there is also the new infomatics centre.

"There is a lot going on and we are trying to take that into account to allow more opportunities to go and shop or go to restaurants in the Southside."

Quartermile is close to Bristo Square and George Square, which host tens of thousands of Fringe visitors each year, and the developers hope their site can become part of that.

A Fringe spokeswoman said: "We're excited to hear more about how Quartermile might offer a range of performance spaces to Fringe shows and street performers."

There has already been interest from restaurants wanting to lease the glass-encased two-storey building to the north of the square. And it is intended that the bottom floor of the office building will have retail or restaurant use.

Gladedale is still to make a final decision on what to do with the remainder of Red House, the small former nurses' home on the square, although it is considering a cafe or restaurant.

"The public space is a big part of the whole story at Quartermile," said Mr MacPherson.

"On days like today we hope that the square will be a very busy place where you can have a meal or a sandwich.

"Having a number of restaurants around and about will help add to the whole feeling of the place.

"With this development, the whole masterplan has been about opening the site up and making it more accessible.

"Six or seven years ago you wouldn't have come to this site unless you were going into the hospital, but we want to make it a destination."

The public square and buildings around it are not due to be completed until October 2009, but law firm Morton Fraser has already agreed to pre-let space in the six-storey office block.

The developer is also marketing two listed buildings at the site for conversion into a 50,000 sq ft boutique hotel with around 65 rooms.

Linda Urquhart, chief executive of Morton Fraser, said: "This move for our Edinburgh team to new purpose-built premises at Quartermile marks another significant milestone for Morton Fraser."

[oats]

UPDATE

The buildings around this public space are now coming into being:

image hosted on flickr


This is taken down 'Nightingale Way' (next to the new 'Quartermile One' office building, which still only has a tennant on the top 2 floors). The new build on the left and the low rise in the middle is 'Quartermile Two' (a second major office block). The lack of letting Quartermile One wouldn't appear to bode well in the current climate. The public space will be flanked by these office blocks. As shown in this render: http://www.qmile.com/content/view/127/176/

And this is the same from the back.
image hosted on flickr


I like Simpson Loan's emerging streetscape:
image hosted on flickr


But, I don't understand the thinking behind build the new blocks so that their frontages are 3 feet further forward that the ERI blocks...why not have level frontages and have a wider street?
image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


I felt the thread needed a photographic update. Shame about the weather though.

[maccoinnich]

cheers

[maccoinnich]

Images from edinburgharchitecture. Get your coffee and bread at Peter's Yard Swedish bakery, and you never need to feel like you're leaving Scandinavia:

[Skyescraper]

I really like the Quartermile development. Looks pretty well thought out and well built. These rooms are cracking, I could just about live there!

[oats]

That is beautiful, although I'd need an extra splash of colour if I lived in one! I'm not chic enough for white alone. If I am going to criticise anything (and I will, but not ferociously) it's the size of the kitchen. In all new developments kitchens seem to be very unimportant, they are always disproportionately small. I suppose they build these developments for M&S ready meal lovers, but I love to cook and having a kitchen with that little worktop space would make me think twice about buying a swishy flat...luckily that's not something I have to think about.

[maccoinnich]

Stumbled across this on the internets:

Residence Inn to debut in the UK

Marriott’s extended-stay brand is to open its first property in the UK later this year, a 107-room hotel in Edinburgh.

Scheduled to open in October, the Residence Inn Edinburgh will be only the second property by the brand in Europe, with the Residence Inn Munich Orleanstrasse due to open this autumn.

The hotel will be located in the Quartermile development of the city, close to Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile.

Signature features of the Residence Inn brand include separate living and sleeping areas, kitchens, grocery delivery, 24-hour shops and complimentary hot breakfast.

The Quartermile development is situated on the site of the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and when complete will feature apartments, retail space and offices designed by Fosters + Partners.

The new property is part of Marriott’s plans to double the number of rooms in Europe by 2015 (see online news March 16, 2010).

Recent announcements include an agreement with AC Hotels to brand its European properties as AC by Marriott (see online news October 11, 2010), and the forthcoming debut of the Edition Hotels brand in London (see online news November 12, 2010).

For more information visit marriott.co.uk.

[maccoinnich]

Also, this thread should probably be in the Scotland forum.