Project Management Showcase

Workman’s specialist project management team is providing development monitoring for build-to-rent developments encompassing 333 units over two buildings, which form the centrepiece of the high-profile SOYO neighbourhood in Leeds. The build-to-rent (BTR) developments have been forward-funded as part of the Federated Hermes-operated Hestia fund, which is dedicated to this type of scheme, as reported by Property Week.

Caddick Construction Ltd has recently begun work on-site, with the Workman Project Management team, steered by Adam Austin, Senior Associate, having been involved since 2020, delivering due diligence and contractual advice.

Leeds-based DLG Architects has designed the buildings with sustainability credentials that go beyond current statutory requirements. The #WorkmanESG team is collaborating closely on the project, with our Hedley Jones, Partner, Head of ESG, Refurbishment and Development, providing ESG Project Advisor service.

The SOYO development will feature outdoor courtyards plus 12,000 sq. ft of retail and restaurant units on the ground floor, as well as a new public realm including green spaces and a pedestrian boulevard leading through to the centre of Leeds.

The two BTR buildings are set for completion in December 2023, with Workman Project Management involvement continuing into 2024 as the public realm is finalised.

Workman Project Management provided development monitoring for the former Kingston Riding School, which has been transformed into 52 apartments. It is the first project to reach practical completion as part of the Hestia scheme, the residential operating platform from the international business of Federated Hermes.

For Hestia, the residential operating platform from the international business of Federated Hermes, Workman Project Management has provided development monitoring services for a development of 52 one, two and three-bedroom apartments on the site of the former Kingston Riding School at 38 Crescent Road, Kingston-upon-Thames.

The 1.5-acre scheme, now branded as Square Roots Kingston, was created by London Square’s affordable housing and shared ownership provider Square Roots.

The development reached practical completion in early September and is now more than 90% sold.

The new apartments are set in a tree-lined neighbourhood, just over a mile’s walk from the sought-after market town centre of Kingston-upon-Thames. The development offers residents private outdoor space with balconies and terraces to all units. The scheme has been designed across two buildings, planned around landscaped grounds to create a green urban space.

The site boasts allocated parking, including electric vehicle charging points, and cycle storage, as well as good transport links with Norbiton rail station an 11-minute walk.

As part of its growing body of work in the later living sector, Workman’s Project Management team has monitored the development of five luxury care homes, constructed to rigorously high standards of quality and workmanship. All five have now reached practical completion and been handed over to operators with +30-year leases.

The Ivy Care Home portfolio, valued more than £100m when first conceived in 2020, comprises a collection of architect-designed buildings, set within landscaped settings in prominent locations. These include Eastleigh, Enfield, Braintree, Littleover, Market Harborough, Redford (Edinburgh), Wixams, Verwood and Upton. Five of the homes were newly built, while an additional four operational care homes were purchased by the fund, following extensive due diligence studies carried out by the Workman Project Management team.

Workman Project Management specialists from across the firm have been involved in development monitoring for the later living project, which has drawn upon expertise from our Bristol, Swindon, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, and Glasgow offices.

The teams have collaborated with innovative and market-leading developers and operators such as Hamberley Care Homes, Avery Healthcare, and Frontier Care, who take up their leases once the new buildings have reached practical completion.

The later living care homes are built to exemplary standards, with between 60 and 85 ensuite bedrooms across no more than three floors. Amenities can include bar, cinema, exercise rooms, private dining, hair salon and barbers, gardening areas designed for wheelchair-users, café, library, potting sheds, wildflower meadows, sensory gardens, and sheltered outdoor seating areas.

The homes are also constructed progressively in terms of energy efficiency and BREEAM ratings, often with sustainable elements such as green roofs, rainwater harvesting, PV solar panels, heat recovery systems, and sophisticated building management systems that control all of the M&E plant.

Fitted with digital metering systems that can be read for various different timescales, the homes also boast internal communication and nurse call systems, which allow efficient and effective care delivery. Each floor will be staffed by approximately 10-15 employees, with weekly costs for residents at around £1500 to £1600 per room.

For Hestia, the residential operating platform from the international business of Federated Hermes, Workman Project Management is providing development monitoring services for Axion House, Lewisham.

The scheme, made up of 100% affordable housing, will create 141 homes in total.

The development will play a vital role in growth plans for the area, with a mix of London Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership, set in landscaped gardens, with play areas and a communal terrace, plus riverside public realm.

There will also be 4876 sq. ft of commercial space.

The first homes will be available from March 2024.