A groundbreaking ceremony involving local schoolchildren and civic dignitaries marked the start of construction work after two years of demolition and site remediation on the six-acre site. Enabling works started in January.
Phase one includes a cinema, restaurants and a 92-bed Premier Inn hotel. Later work will add 5,000 square metres of speculative offices 153 build-to-rent apartments.
Tolent will also construct a new frontage onto the riverside and public realm spaces.
Tolent chief executive Andy Mcleod said: “The construction team are now on site and we are delighted to be starting this fantastic project. A project of this size and significance comes with a responsibility to deliver the highest quality of construction outputs but it also comes with a responsibility to support and work with the local community and ensure we leave a lasting legacy that everyone is proud of and one that hopefully inspires future generations.”
Milburngate is being delivered in joint venture by Durham-based Arlington Real Estate and the Richardson family.
Allan Cook, managing director of Arlington Real Estate, said: “This is a major milestone in the regeneration of Durham’s riverside and future economic and social prosperity of the city. We are very proud to have broken ground at Milburngate and embark on a build programme that will create a regionally significant location that will attract people to Durham City, while creating and retaining important jobs.”
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