Dalata Hotel Group plc (“Dalata”) has signed a 35 year FRI lease with Northern Ireland based developer, McAleer & Rushe, for a new four-star Maldron Hotel in Newcastle city centre.
The new 100,000 sq.ft, six-storey hotel is strategically located on Newgate Street and will be developed by McAleer & Rushe, who have worked closely with Dalata on a wide range of projects throughout the UK & Ireland.
The site is a short walk from Central Train Station, opposite Eldon Square Shopping Centre in the heart of the city and close to St James’ Park, home to Newcastle United FC. The hotel, which is expected to open in summer 2018, will offer 226 air-conditioned bedrooms, a bar, restaurant and business centre facilities.
Alongside the flagship hotel, the redevelopment of the former Newgate Centre comprises 185,000 sq.ft of student accommodation operated by the Unite Group Plc to deliver 575 beds, as well as 20,000 sq.ft foot of modern retail and leisure space, making it a truly mixed-use scheme with all the associated long-term economic and employment benefits for the city.
Stephen Surphlis, Property Director at McAleer & Rushe, added:
“The addition of this quality hotel brand reflects the wider importance of this entire mixed-use development and will be a major asset to the city as a whole, as well as attracting business and leisure travellers to Newcastle. We look forward to working alongside Dalata, for whom we have previously delivered numerous projects”.
Dermot Crowley, Deputy CEO Business Development and Finance at Dalata, said:
““This development provides us with an exciting opportunity to launch our Maldron brand in the English market, in line with our strategy of rolling out our Clayton and Maldron brands in the large regional UK cities. We are delighted to be working on this project with our development partner, McAleer & Rushe, and look forward to opening in Newcastle in summer 2018”.
A topping out ceremony was held at Catherine House, Portsmouth’s latest landmark student building, to mark the completion of its superstructure this week. The occasion was attended by representatives from multi award-winning student accommodation provider The Student Housing Company, its parent company GSA and the building’s contractors McAleer & Rushe.
The Catherine House project has completely transformed and extended the existing Zurich House on Stanhope Road, with the new building set for occupation in August 2017. The original structure was given a state-of-the-art refurbishment while an adjoining building was developed to provide enough space to deliver 1,000 much-needed high-specification student rooms in a combination of three to six bedroom cluster flats, studios and one bedroom apartments.
The property is located in a prime location just few minutes’ walk from the city centre, the University of Portsmouth and opposite Portsmouth and Southsea railway station and will include a reception, common room, cycle storage, car park, sky lounge and public shops, providing the perfect balance of convenience, comfort and sociability.
Sarah Linton-Walls, sales and marketing director at The Student Housing Company, which will operate the building upon opening, said:
With room for 1,000 students, Catherine House is one of our most ambitious projects to date and the fact that you can see it standing out on the skyline as you enter this attractive city makes it all the more exciting for us. We can’t wait to open our doors to Portsmouth’s students next year – we’ve no doubt they’ll feel perfectly at home in this top of the range, bespoke student accommodation which raises the industry standard.
Dominic Trainor, contracts director at McAleer & Rushe, said:
As Catherine House tops out and makes its mark on the Portsmouth skyline, now is a good time to reflect on the close working relationship between McAleer & Rushe, The Student Housing Company and GSA that has made this such an exciting project to be involved with. Following the Catherine House project and the recent successful completion of the Back Of The Walls project in Southampton, we look forward to future developments and continuing the mutually-beneficial relationship with The Student Housing Company and its new parent company GSA.
Urban&Civic, owner and developer of the new hotel being built at London Stansted Airport, celebrated an important milestone with key members of the project team at a topping out ceremony on the roof of the building.
The event, hosted by design and build construction partner McAleer & Rushe, celebrated the completion of the hotel’s superstructure and, following the exchange of an engraved trowel, representatives from Urban&Civic, McAleer & Rushe and Manchester Airports Group (the owners of Stansted Airport) pitched in to lay the concrete for the final step.
Martin Magee, Managing Director of McAleer & Rushe Contracts UK Ltd said:
Good clients generally result in good projects and, from the outset, our collaboration with Urban&Civic has been overwhelmingly positive, which has made us determined to exceed expectations. It is always challenging managing a project of this scale on an airport site and we remain extremely grateful to Manchester Airports Group (MAG), who have proved very supportive and played a large role in helping us deliver on time.
Work started on the £45m hotel, which will be Hampton by Hilton’s largest hotel in Europe, at the end of last year and it is on track to welcome guests in summer 2017. The 357-bed, eight storey hotel will be linked to the terminal by a covered walkway and will support any future expansion of the Airport’s main terminal.
Robin Butler, Managing Director of Urban&Civic, said:
This is a key site for us as we continue to invest in the London-Stansted-Cambridge corridor and it is great to be able to celebrate this important milestone. Alongside the strategic sites we are developing at Alconbury Weald and Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, this hotel at Stansted Airport forms part of our commitment to this nationally important growth area. Good design in the right location remains a touchstone for Urban&Civic.
London Stansted Airport has seen rapid and sustained growth in passenger numbers under the ownership of MAG and is the largest single employment site in the eastern region with over 11,600 people working at the Airport. Now boasting over 500 flights each day, Stansted Airport’s long haul destinations include Orlando and Cancun.
The hotel sits alongside MAG’s £260m investment plan to attract more passengers, airlines and long-haul services to Stansted, the fastest growing airport in the UK.
Lynda Shillaw, MAG Property CEO, said:
“The new Hampton by Hilton hotel will be an important asset to London Stansted Airport, supporting the UK’s fastest growing airport. This is a great example of how MAG Property works with investors and occupiers to unlock the potential of our airport locations for a wide range of uses to ensure they get the competitive edge from the exceptional locations we own and manage.”
Offering travellers a friendly service and high quality amenities, including complimentary Wi-Fi and hot breakfast, Hampton by Hilton is a rapidly expanding global brand. As well as operating 21 hotels in the UK, in addition to the hotel at Stansted Airport, other forthcoming airport hotels include Bristol and Humberside.
Paul Marlow has been named Construction Manager of the Year 2016 for his inspirational leadership on a £29 million student accommodation project for client Unite Students.
Competing against some of the most talented construction professionals in the UK, the McAleer & Rushe project manager from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland beat 85 other finalists and 10 gold medallists to the coveted trophy. Paul has also scored a CMYA first. He is the first overall winner to come from a residential category in the competition’s 38-year history.
Despite facing a barrage of logistical and technical challenges, Paul delivered the Angel Lane project in Stratford on time and on budget and with a ‘wow factor’ that delighted the client. The 759 unit accommodation block has since become a standard setter for Unite’s Homes for Success initiative, and a benchmark against which future projects are measured.
Paul’s achievement is all the more impressive because of the project’s difficult beginnings: the start date had to be delayed by two months to January 2014 due to late land purchase, but the completion deadline remained fixed at July 2015, in order for Unite to prepare for the first intake of students.
Leading Angel Lane from pre-construction phase, Paul radically revised the build strategy to save two months from the programme. A notable time saving initiative included switching from a post tensioned to a reinforced in situ concrete frame. Paul also selected a new lightweight cladding system that could be installed by scaffold, mast climbers and cradles, freeing up tower cranes for other activities.
Angel Lane faced major constraints: it was bound by a main road, a bridge and a neighbouring building site. But the biggest challenge was the proximity of live rail track less than 6m from the completed building. As well as having to undergo an extensive pre-approval process with Network Rail, Paul also had to guarantee 24-hour access site access to the operator’s maintenance teams. The provision of utilities also presented significant risks to the programme: as there was no extra capacity in the local electrical network, a new supply had to be delivered from 1km away.
Throughout the project, Paul maintained close liaison with a large number of third parties that were critical to successful delivery. He also ran a series of design workshops that were pivotal in ensuring suppliers and subcontractors were smoothly coordinated and integrated with the site team.
Paul led by example on health and safety, producing outstanding results: with more than 500,000 man hours worked and 1,836 people inducted onto the project, there was not a single reportable incident or accident on site.
Chris Blythe, chief executive of CIOB commented:
This has been another extraordinary year for CMYA. In every category we have seen project managers of all ages delivering exceptional projects, mastering multiple challenges, and achieving world class quality with exemplary leadership skills.
It’s the first year that we have seen the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) from the conception to completion of many projects. This is an important milestone in the evolution of our industry, indicating the increasing complexity and sophistication of built environment work and the pivotal role that construction managers play within project teams. Congratulations to Paul and all our finalists and medallists. You are helping us take our industry to the next level.
Luke Engmann, development manager for Unite Students said:
Rather than reporting problems, Paul consistently delivered solutions. His foresight and suggestions enabled us to maintain programme and deliver the scheme in time for 2015 occupation. He also led by example on health and safety. The fact that we had zero accidents can be directly attributed to the conscientious work from Paul and his team.
The project was very challenging in terms of programme, site logistics and budget but Paul’s ability to communicate all issues and foster a real sense of teamwork has set the benchmark in terms of stakeholder management and leadership.
Chris Richards, an honorary Life Member of the CIOB and CMYA consultant said:
Competition was particularly intense at CMYA this year. An unprecedented number of gold medallists were strong contenders for the top trophy. But Paul’s entry was genuinely outstanding. He delivered a project of immaculate quality at a very rapid pace. Confident, positive and determined he demonstrated complete command of the situation. The judges’ decision was unanimous.
This year’s awards were sponsored by British Gas, Citation, Elecosoft, Glodon, IHS, ITN Productions, Peugeot, Premier BusinessCare and Roomex. You can find out more about CMYA by visiting www.cmya.co.uk
Overall Construction Manager of the Year 2016
Residential 7 storeys and over
GOLD: Paul Marlow, McAleer & Rushe Contracts, for construction of Unite Angel Lane, Stratford. A student tower block for 759 students.
Residential 7 storeys and under
GOLD: Ciaran Tiffney ICIOB, McAleer & Rushe Contracts, for 24 apartments in a seven-storey block in central London.
Belfast City Council grants planning approval for 215,000 sq ft of new grade A office space
McAleer & Rushe has secured planning approval from Belfast City Council for the second phase of its Bedford Square scheme, paving the way for over 215,000 sq ft of new grade A office space for the city.
Phase two of the city centre development consists of a new 17-storey office building providing 182,598 sq ft of grade A officeaccommodation, as well as the refurbishment of the listed William Ewart building to create a further 34,942 sq ft of space.
The first phase of the project was completed in 2006 and is home to the headquarters of Invest Northern Ireland, with the latest buildings located on adjacent sites and arranged around a new landscaped public piazza to provide high-quality public realm in the heart of Belfast city centre.
Stephen Surphlis, property director at McAleer & Rushe, said:
“This planning approval is a welcome boost to the Belfast office market, with the second phase of Bedford Square bringing a landmark building back into active use after many years of vacancy and helping to alleviate the shortage of grade A space in the city.
The first phase of Bedford Square has been a great success and we now have the opportunity to complete the vision with the creation of much-needed business space and new public realm which, together with our Maldron Hotel and QUB student accommodation developments on the adjoining Brunswick Street site, will make a huge contribution to the regeneration of Belfast’s Linen Quarter and this part of the city.”
McAleer & Rushe is in discussions with potential office occupiers for phase two of Bedford Square, with work expected to commence on site in the coming months.
McAleer & Rushe was proud to join with developer Artisan Real Estate Investors at the “Topping Out” of a 146-suite Adagio Aparthotel being built by M&R in the heart of Edinbugh’s Old Town.
The four-storey Adagio fronts on to the Royal Mile and a new £6.5m public square which is at the heart of Artisan’s £150m development called New Waverley which is creating a brand new city centre district for Edinburgh.
The scheme also includes a 127-room Premier Inn and 130-room Hub by Premier Inn which both recently opened, also built by McAleer & Rushe. Other elements include 177,000 sq ft of cutting edge Grade A offices and 148 apartments and townhouses.
McAleer & Rushe Contracts Director Shane McCullagh said:
We are very pleased to mark this construction milestone with Artisan. The hotel blends in with its historic environment behind an existing façade on to the Royal Mile and a newly created pedestrian walkway linking Cannongate to the square is inspired by the Old Town’s historic ‘Wynds’. It has been great working with such a competent developer and we look forward to working with Artisan on other elements of this fantastic scheme.
Senior members and officers of Belfast City Council and the development team of McAleer & Rushe got together to mark the “Topping Out” of the council’s new office building on Adelaide Street.
The ground and eight-storey building is being developed out by McAleer & Rushe for the council on the former Clarendon House site.
Declan Boyle, chairman of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, said:
“Belfast City Council is committed to working with partners and stakeholders across the city to deliver Grade A office space in the city centre to attract new investors and businesses. Our new headquarters are testament to that commitment.
“We are delighted that McAleer & Rushe is delivering this project both within budget and ahead of time and commend the firm on their continued commitment to Belfast. I look forward to the completion of the project, which will ensure our staff are located in a cluster with our other administrative buildings in the city centre.”
Stephen Surphlis property director of McAleer & Rushe added:
“We are very pleased to have reached topping out on this significant project. An achievement made possible through the hard work and close co-operation of Belfast City Council along with McAleer & Rushe’s Design and Build team.
“We look forward to continuing this excellent working relationship and the successful completion of this 100,000 sq ft (NIA) Grade A office development, on programme ready for the council’s occupation by the end of this year.”
McAleer & Rushe has received planning permission for a 740-bedroom student housing scheme on College Avenue which it is developing for Queen’s University Belfast.
This is one of two student accommodation projects, which McAleer & Rushe have contracted to deliver in a £70m deal with Queen’s. The two student schemes, totalling more than 1200 bedrooms, will now be delivered by Summer 2018.
McAleer & Rushe Property Director Stephen Surphlis said:
“We are delighted to have achieved planning permission from Belfast City Council and we look forward to commencing construction on this major student accommodation scheme which will make a significant contribution towards the regeneration of this part of the city.”
Stephen continued:
The College Avenue development puts us well on target to deliver 7500 student bedrooms within 5 years, for many of the leading providers of student accommodation”.
As further evidence of Belfast’s growing hotel pipeline, Dalata Hotel Group plc has agreed a £21 million development deal with McAleer & Rushe to deliver a 206-room Maldron Hotel on the developer’s mixed-use scheme on Brunswick Street in central Belfast.
The 14-storey building, designed by Belfast architect Consarc, on the site of the former Belfast Metropolitan College, received planning consent in November 2015.
Demolition works have almost completed and construction is due to begin in June. The hotel is expected to be completed in early 2018.
The other element of the McAleer & Rushe scheme is a 476-bed student housing scheme being developed for Queen’s University Belfast.
McAleer & Rushe development director Stephen Surphlis said:
“’We are pleased to announce Dalata Hotel Group as the operator and investor in our new Brunswick Street hotel project for their Maldron brand. This project marks the continuance of a longstanding relationship with the Hotel Group and brings the first new build hotel in the city to commence construction post recession. The Maldron brand will be a much needed high quality addition to the business and tourist hotel offering in Belfast.”
Dermot Crowley, deputy CEO Business development & Finance at Dalata commented:
We are delighted to announce the development of a new Maldron Hotel in central Belfast, providing an extra 206 rooms in the city. RevPar growth was strong in 2015 in our existing Northern Irish hotels and we have been keen to expand our portfolio in Belfast. This new hotel continues the rapid growth of the Maldron brand on the island of Ireland and we look forward to working with McAleer & Rushe on the development.”
McAleer & Rushe and DM Thomas Foundation for Young People raise money for NICH
Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice received £60,000 from DM Thomas Foundation for Young People to fund much needed improvements to their children’s accommodation.
The money was raised through the Foundation Ball held annually at London Hilton on Park Lane and the Hospice was chosen as one of the recipients of funds from the night by the Ball sponsor, McAleer & Rushe.
DM Thomas Foundation for Young People’s Ball was held in November 2015 and raised £360,000 for the work of the Foundation and its charity partners, including the Hospice. The Foundation’s grant will be used by Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice to upgrade facilities. The work is a continuation of a refurbishment project which started in 2015, when as the previous year’s sponsor of the Foundation Ball, McAleer & Rushe chose to donate £44,900 towards revamping an initial four bedrooms. This additional cheque will fund the second stage of the makeover and will complete the project.
Dame Maureen Thomas, founding trustee, Simon Sheehan the Director of the charity, Seamus McAleer, Chairman of McAleer & Rushe and Mark Walker the Area General Manager of Hilton Northern Ireland, met with the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospicestaff to present them with a cheque.
Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice is the only service of its type within Northern Ireland caring for children and young people with very complex needs. There are over 1,300 life-limited children and young people and their families living in Northern Ireland who need specialist care. The hospice will remodel six of their children’s bedrooms with new flooring, furniture, lighting, sinks and windows.
McAleer & Rushe chairman Seamus McAleer said:
“McAleer & Rushe is very proud to continue its support for the work of the DM Thomas Foundation for Young People and the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice. Both organisations do such tremendous work with young people, improving the quality of their lives. As a Northern Irish company, particularly supportive of cancer care charities, we have long admired the level of care offered by the children’s hospice for the Province’s life-limited children and their families. Today it has been a privilege, and very inspiring, to see how funds have been used to enhance its facilities and to witness the care offered by the Hospice”.
Heather Weir, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice said:
“Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice opened 15 years ago and over that time has welcomed and cared for thousands of children and their families. Some of the equipment and facilities in the building are now coming to the end of their lifespan and are greatly in need of refurbishment. We’re delighted that the Foundation and its sponsor, McAleer & Rushe, have so generously chosen us to receive this contribution of £60,000 towards the refurbishment of six children’s bedrooms in the Children’s Hospice. The bedrooms are having a complete revamp, with new work surfaces, wardrobes, floors, windows and soft furnishings. They will be freshly painted and will feel like new for all the children and families that will use them in the future. The aim always is to make the Children’s Hospice feel like a home from home as much as possible. The support of the Foundation makes a huge difference to all the children we care for going forward and on their behalf I would like to thank it for its very generous gift.”
DM Thomas Foundation for Young People was founded in 2000 and is dedicated to supporting young people in need by combating exclusion and providing skills, aspirations and opportunities. Donations are funded almost entirely through the generous efforts and contributions of its supporters, including from regular charity balls. Since its establishment the Foundation has donated almost £16 million to transform young lives.
Simon Sheehan, Director of the Foundation said
“Thanks to our partnership with McAleer & Rushe and Hilton Belfast we are delighted to be able to continue our support of Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and to complete the refurbishment project which began last year. It is fantastic to be a part of a long term programme of this kind, and to see the money raised from our Foundation Ball put to good use. The work NICH do supporting life-limited young people and their families is invaluable, and is central to the ethos of the Foundation.”