McAleer & Rushe joined Unite Students and King’s College London at the opening ceremony of their flagship student housing accommodation scheme Angel Lane in Stratford, east London.
Angel Lane which reached practical completion on 27th August was one of McAleer & Rushe’s first student housing projects and its first partnership with Unite.
McAleer & Rushe Contracts Director Dominic Trainor said:
“We really enjoy working with Unite. On this project there was a spirit of true collaboration from the very first design workshops, and great integration with Unite’s operation teams. I like to think there is a real appreciation of our heritage of meeting challenges by rolling up our sleeves and sorting things out”.
Antony Arnold Construction Director at Unite said:
“This project has set the benchmark for our ‘Homes For Success’ initiative, with exceptional aesthetics, amenity space, and light, which all promote the well-being of our students. McAleer & Rushe did a great job delivering a challenging project on time and within budget, with a ‘wow’ factor quality of finish. They took on a series of third party issues and rather than reporting problems they consistently delivered solutions. We quickly gained a sense of confidence that the project was in a safe pair of hands, borne from an all-round competence of the contractor and the consultant team”.
The strength of the relationship established has been demonstrated by McAleer & Rushe being selected as a vested partner by Unite.
The 24,000m2 Angel Lane which rises over eight to 14 storeys is situated a stone’s throw from the Olympic Park and a major transport hub will become home to 759 students.
The site was particularly challenging given the location beside one of London’s busiest transport interchanges and the interaction with London Underground, Network Rail and HS1.
It was a particularly fast turnaround for such a large scheme with McAleer & Rushe only beginning on site in January 2014. One interesting innovation which helped facilitate this was the use of Gebrik brick cladding systems.
Angel Lane provides a solution to a key challenge facing King’s – a need for more purpose-built student accommodation to support growing student numbers.
King’s real estate development director Ralph Luck OBE said:
“We have ambitious plans to increase student numbers over the next few years and given our existing strong relationship with Unite Students they were the obvious partner to choose.”
Unite Students‘ managing director of Operations Richard Smith said:
“Delivering another property in this exciting area of London gives students another accommodation option, ensuring they get value for money and the best environment to succeed.”
For further information please contact: Robert Gibson at Grenadier on 0207 834 6263 / 07748 182 234
