HUDSON QUARTER

OVERVIEW

Hudson Quarter is an ultra-exclusive sustainable mixed-use development in the shadow of York Minster that was delivered on schedule despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

CHALLENGE

Four 1960s Brutalist buildings opposite York’s busy railway station needed to be transformed as part of a £35 million development over a two-acre site.

SOLUTION

Three residential buildings – named Kings, Waverley and Victoria – provide 127 luxury residences and penthouses over 122,000 sq ft.

The fourth sees a steel framed structure for Grade-A office space covering 35,000 sq ft with 5,000 sq ft of additional commercial space.

Situated just metres inside the ancient city walls in a busy location opposite the railway station, traffic management logistics required excellent planning as deliveries of plant and materials had to be scheduled precisely due to vehicles being given small windows of opportunity to enter, offload and leave site.

This meant scheduling deliveries in sequence with the programme and regular ‘just in time’ working that required us to draw on our extensive experience delivering schemes in busy city centres across the UK.

Halfway through the project, the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Despite this, we were able to continue and deliver according to the original schedule.

This was possible due to our excellent programme management and the organisation of Caddick Construction. Its site management and health and safety team took a detailed approach to implementing control measures for maintaining social distancing and hygiene standards across the site to keep people safe.

This included one-way systems, washing stations, security personnel monitoring behaviour and extra cleaners carrying out regular washdowns, all of which gave our 50 engineers who were working on site great confidence.

To further help us meet the programme deadline, we appointed leaders for each of the four blocks to manage specific sections of the work who reported directly to our full-time site engineer who oversaw the scheme.

Our MEP design and build services included HVAC; power distribution; underfloor heating; alarms (security, intruder and fire); access controls for blocks and doors; BMS in place across the site linking residential and office areas; and, a wide range of domestic services.

A BREEAM Excellent rating was being targeted and our MEP included a range of sustainable features including 14 twin electric vehicle chargers, heat recovery ventilation, VRF air conditioning, LED lighting with PIR lighting controls and energy monitoring.

We handed over a zero defect scheme which is testimony to our programme management and the thoroughness of our experienced Quality Control department.

The success of the scheme further cemented G&H’s working relationship with Caddick Construction.

RESULTS

Appointed by Caddick Construction and delivered for Palace Capital PLC, it was a complex and challenging scheme from a MEP design, technical and delivery perspectives.

It saw four 1960s Brutalist buildings opposite York’s busy railway station transformed in a £35 million development over a two-acre site.