Morgan Sindall has started building work on the mixed-use Marischal Square development in Aberdeen city centre, creating 300 construction jobs.
Appointed by developer and urban regeneration specialist Muse Developments to construct the £107 million development, Morgan Sindall has moved on to site to deliver the two-year construction programme.
Marischal Square, which is fully funded by Aviva Investors, will deliver a vibrant new mixed-use quarter for the city and include Grade ‘A’ office space with associated car parking, a four-star hotel, cafés, restaurants and civic space, along with public access, landscaping and public realm improvements around a site once dominated by the former Aberdeen City Council headquarters building St. Nicholas House.
Harry Thorburn, managing director of Morgan Sindall in Scotland, said, “This is a key project for us and one which we are proud to be delivering in this unique city. Our objective is to bring the vision of the developers and designers to reality in an efficient and safe manner and to ensure that the build programme minimises any disruption for the people using the city centre.”
The development will create 300 jobs during the construction phase, with 1,500 jobs available when the development of offices, Residence Inn by Marriott hotel and the bar/restaurant space is fully completed and occupied in 2017. That level of staffing in the development will also help sustain a significant number of jobs in the city centre area.
The full plans for Marischal Square include:
- 173,500 sq ft of Grade ‘A’ office accommodation
- a mixture of granite and glass in the elevations
- new garden and civic space in front of Provost Skene’s House
- circa 26,600 sq ft of ground floor café, bar and restaurant space
- a 126-bed, four-star Residence Inn by Marriott hotel
Muse Developments’ regional director Scotland, Steve Turner, said the Marischal Square development had already attracted significant levels of interest from leading businesses looking to establish a presence in Aberdeen for the first time.
“Aberdeen City Council are at the beginning of a long-term city centre regeneration project which aims to shape the city for the future and Marischal Square has the potential to play a significant part in that process. By bringing jobs to the heart of the city via the office space and helping to extend the night time economy through the bar and restaurant facilities, we believe the complex will help maintain Aberdeen’s position as one of the UK’s key business destinations.
“The level of interest in the bar/restaurant space is already high and we expect that to be mirrored by those seeking to take office space now that they see work starting on site.”
Marischal Square will be developed in a single phase with delivery anticipated in summer 2017.
