Member Article

Russells Construction appointed by Peel to build superstore

Peel Land and Property has appointed Manchester-based Russells Construction to build a new Asda superstore at the Chatham Waters development in Kent.

Russells Contruction is currently onsite building the 73,000 sq ft Asda, which forms part of the first phase of the £650 million regeneration scheme on land in Gillingham. The retailer will become the development’s first occupier, creating around 450 new jobs.

Designed by AHR Architects, the £6.5 million project also includes the construction of a petrol station, parking for 400 cars, and landscaping. It is scheduled to be complete by summer 2015.

The contract builds on Russells’ existing relationship with North West property firm Peel. Russells recently delivered the Eastbank residential regeneration scheme in Ancoats, which comprised 108 properties.

Nick Hey, project director at Peel Holdings said: “We are pleased to be working with Russells again to help deliver this major regeneration project. The team’s proven experience in the retail sector, including complex waterside schemes, will ensure that we can deliver our programme on time and within budget.”

Andrew Russell, director at Russells Construction, said: “We worked closely with Peel’s project team to re-engineer the ground and feed into the store’s design, which will enable us to build it as efficiently and effectively as possible. The store will regenerate a brownfield site and be located at a key area of the development fronting Pier Road.”

The Chatham Waters project is set to transform a 1.9m sq ft heavy industrial site, creating a total of 3,500 jobs as well as 950 homes, 430,000 sq ft of offices and a hotel. It is a wholly privately-funded development with Peel investing £25 million in Phase 1 alone.

Russells has also built stores for Waitrose, Morrisons and Aldi, as well as retail parks for Derwent in Hull and Manchester.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .