[leadensky]

Haymarket hotel and shops development to be built in summer

Full story and Reporting Scotland video at BBC.

Work on the £200m development will begin in the summer

A £200m development with hotel, offices and shops is to be built in Edinburgh's Haymarket in the summer, following several years of delay.

The large site has lain dormant for years due to a long-running planning battle then the economic downturn.

The development already has full planning consent and has the potential to create 3,500 jobs.

Original plans for a 17-storey hotel next to Haymarket station were scaled down following local protests.

The project has now been resurrected after construction company Interserve came on board with the landowners Tiger Developments.

Interserve will initially invest £10.5m in the project while the construction contract is for £150m.

The project will bring together a mix of high-quality office, hotel and retail space.

Construction is likely to start near Haymarket station this summer, creating 250 jobs.

Tesco and serviced apartments provider Staycity have already signed up while food chains Prezzo and Pret A Manger have committed for the second phase of the development.

Detailed planning approval was granted in March 2011.

Photos and fly through at Richard Murphy Architects

 

[Ultima]

I'm glad a 17 storey building wasn't built beside Haymarket. What the hell were they thinking? Glasgow on the other hand...

 

[Moschops]

Personally I thought the original proposal for the 17 storey hotel looked prettier than the more boxy office block now going on the site, but I appreciate that's not a popular viewpoint.

Google aerial view of the site:

More recent aerial views cropped from larger images from the March photo update on the Tram pages of the council website.

Flythrough of the plans

 

[Kenspeckle]

Personally I thought the original proposal for the 17 storey hotel looked prettier than the more boxy office block now going on the site, but I appreciate that's not a popular viewpoint.

Google aerial view of the site:

More recent aerial views cropped from larger images from the March photo update on the Tram pages of the council website.

Flythrough of the plans

I think I agree with you, Moschops. The height of the original tower (Haymarket 5) certainly wasn't in keeping with its neighbours, but the building itself seems to have lost something in the redesign process (and not just nine or ten storeys).

Some before and afters for those unfamiliar with the scheme.

And while we're on the subject, I understand that unfortunately Sutherland Hussey are no longer involved in the project. They originally designed the hotel (Haymarket 2), my favourite part of the old scheme.

And the official site: http://www.thehaymarketedinburgh.com/

 

[Ultima]

The original hotel proposal is monstrously bad.

 

[Hendycfc]

The original hotel proposal is monstrously bad.

Agreed. The redesign is 10x better.

 

[Otsuka]

i think a compromise is needed.

 

[Kenspeckle]

The original hotel proposal is monstrously bad.

I agree that it wasn't the bonniest - and definitely oversized for the site - but it least it felt like a Richard Murphy design. The revision looks more like a certain other city practice... The old rule seemed to be that every other new build in Edinburgh was by Allan Murray Architects, now it seems that the rest have to look like they're by AMA!

 

[Moschops]

I'm not intending going as crazy with the camera as I've done on the trams thread, but I couldn't live much closer to this so I do intend taking pics of progress when construction starts. Nothing's happening yet, but here's some 'before' photos.

Haymarket

From Grosvenor Street

From Torphichen Place

Morrison Link

Morrison Crescent

The view from my bedroom window is going to change.

 

[bestbud]

Take as many pics as possible, Mosy. Your tram pics are great.

 

[Pious Fraud]

^^

Reminds me of this...

Evolution Building, Glasgow

~o0o~

Glasgow Architecture​

 

[Kenspeckle]

Construction was due to begin this summer. It's been a while since I've been near the area (thanks to tram work diversions). Does anyone know if they're on site yet?

I read the other day that tenants for the first phase are confirmed as Staycity Seviced Apartments and Tesco. If I remember correctly, the first building up is going to be Haymarket 2 - the hotel at the rear of the site which has a large retail unit on the ground floor - so this would tally with the announced tenants.

The same article mentioned Pret A Manger and Prezzo confirmed for the second phase. I think this will be Haymarket 5 - the tall building on the Haymarket Terrace corner of the site.

 

[Leki]

Construction was due to begin this summer. It's been a while since I've been near the area (thanks to tram work diversions). Does anyone know if they're on site yet?

I read the other day that tenants for the first phase are confirmed as Staycity Seviced Apartments and Tesco. If I remember correctly, the first building up is going to be Haymarket 2 - the hotel at the rear of the site which has a large retail unit on the ground floor - so this would tally with the announced tenants.

The same article mentioned Pret A Manger and Prezzo confirmed for the second phase. I think this will be Haymarket 5 - the tall building on the Haymarket Terrace corner of the site.

I was there a few weeks ago and there was no obvious signs of movement. The whole site will need to be significantly regraded to bring it down to street level on the Dalry Road and Morrison Street sides. Reading a few of the planning docs, it seems the developers have to organise remedial works to the rail tunnels before playing with the ground above.

I hadn't ever seen it confirmed, but the ground floor plans for Haymarket 2 refer to 'Tesco storage' and 'Staycity plan' (not that it's at all legible in my Photobucket upload), so that agrees with you that Haymarket 2 is the first phase.

 

[Moschops]

Construction was due to begin this summer. It's been a while since I've been near the area (thanks to tram work diversions). Does anyone know if they're on site yet?

Nope, nothing happening yet. I'll let people know when that changes!

 

[leadensky]

C'mon ffs! So much for the summer start... Haymarket interchange will open in December and trams will start running soon after, get moving developers!

 

[Kenspeckle]

Work set to start on £200 million Edinburgh city centre scheme

Interserve - 28th November, 2013

Work on The Haymarket, one of Edinburgh's biggest commercial development projects in the last 10 years, is to start immediately following an agreement to commence enabling works and the completion of a number of key pre-lets.

Interserve and Tiger Developments entered into a joint venture agreement in April 2013 to develop the four-acre site next to Edinburgh's Haymarket station.

Agreement has now been reached with Network Rail to start preparatory works as early as December on the railway tunnels beneath the site. This will take approximately 12 months with disruption to rail users kept to a minimum as the works will take place at night when rail services have ended.

The tunnelling work signals the start of one of the city's most important development projects of recent times, resulting in a £200 million mixed-use development delivering a mix of high quality office, hotel and retail space with the potential to create 3,500 jobs.

The Haymarket has full planning consent for 404,000 sq. ft. of office accommodation and 60,000 sq. ft. of commercial and leisure space, together with a 165-bedroom hotel and a 320-space underground car park. Tenants already signed up for the initial development phase include Q Park, Tesco and serviced apartments provider Staycity. Food chains Prezzo and Pret A Manger are already committed to the second phase, together with advanced discussions with other occupiers for a further 70,000 sq. ft. of retail and office space.

Welcoming the next stage in the Haymarket development, Interserve's Development Director David Westwater said: "This agreement with Network Rail to start work on the site represents a significant milestone for one of Edinburgh's last remaining gap sites. We are looking forward to completing the underground works during 2014, allowing for above-ground construction to start in early 2015.

"We are looking forward to starting what we believe to be one of the best city centre development schemes to be found anywhere in the UK right now."

On-site construction is set to start in spring next year, with the first buildings' phase earmarked for completion in 2016.

The construction project alone will be worth £150 million and will be delivered by Interserve's local construction team, based in Livingston, employing around 250 staff employed either directly by the company or by specialist and local sub-contractors.

John Nesbitt, Managing Director of Tiger Developments, added: "We have been involved with this exciting project since we acquired the site in 2006. We are now looking forward to bringing it to fruition working closely with our new development partners Interserve to finally give the Haymarket area the high quality of mixed-use development which it so richly deserves, providing a critical balance to the overall development of Edinburgh's city centre."

Great news, though it sounds like it will be a while before there's much to see above ground. Moschops is our man on the scene for this one - let us know when we can amend the title of this thread to U/C!

 

[The Boy David]

That's superb news. With this built, and the new station and tram interchange, Haymarket is really going to feel so much more "city-like".

 

[Leki]

That really is great news! It's been a long time coming but, as David says, with that site developing and the tram and rail improvements, Haymarket might finally start becoming the desirable location it should really have always been.

 

[Kenspeckle]

Nothing that the Interseve announcement didn't cover but there's a video report if you follow the link below.

Work to start on £200m office and retail development next to Haymarket

STV News - 28th November, 2013

Work is to start on a £200m development of offices, shops, bars and restaurants on an empty site next to Haymarket station.

The former goods yard in Edinburgh has lain empty for years and is currently used as a car park.

Construction company Interserve has joined forces with the landowner Tiger Developments to build a complex of four office buildings along with retail and leisure space.

They have now come to an agreement with Network Rail to start work on the railway tunnels beneath the site next month. Taking around a year, the work will take place at night and not disrupt train services.

Planning permission was granted for the site in March 2011 but construction has been put off because of the recession. Interserve are investing £10.5m to get the project under way.

Tenants already signed up for the initial stage of the development include Tesco and serviced apartment providers Staycity. Prezzo and Pret A Manger have committed to a second phase. It is hoped the site will create 3500 jobs in the city when it opens in 2016.

David Westwater, from Interserve, said: "This agreement with Network Rail to start work on the site represents a significant milestone for one of Edinburgh's last remaining gap sites. We are looking forward to completing the underground works during 2014, allowing for above-ground construction to start in early 2015.

"We are looking forward to starting what we believe to be one of the best city centre development schemes to be found anywhere in the UK right now."

 

[The Boy David]

3,500 new jobs seems a bit high, no? Maybe a typo?