Congratulations to Artisan Real Estate Investors for winning one of the most prestigious property industry awards for the New Waverley development.
The £200 million regeneration scheme currently transforming the heart of the city’s Old Town scooped the blue-riband award for the UK’s best regeneration project at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) 2017 annual UK awards, held in London on Thursday (November 2nd).
New Waverley is being delivered by Artisan Real Estate Investors and has already won the regional RICS award for best regeneration project in Scotland earlier this year. The national award win recognises New Waverley’s current status as one of Europe’s most important city centre regeneration projects, taking place in the historic and highly sensitive World Heritage Site of Edinburgh’s Old Town.
Welcoming the award, Clive Wilding, New Waverley’s Project Director said: “We are all thrilled that New Waverley has won this major national accolade, fighting off stiff competition from major projects across the rest of the UK. We are especially pleased to be recognised by a widely-respected UK organisation that rewards excellence in design and architecture.”
“For the last two years, we have worked hard to make New Waverley an integral part of Edinburgh’s Old Town, breathing new life back into a formerly neglected part of the city centre. This award shows that our efforts are now paying off and I am delighted that New Waverley’s considerable impact is being recognised on a national stage by our peers and public alike.”
In the last 12 months New Waverley has become an established district within the city’s historic Old Town and has delivered a high profile ‘place-making’ campaign designed to create interest and excitement about the area. This has included launching the UK’s largest poem on the side of the new Adagio aparthotel building on the Royal Mile, as well as the area hosting food markets, light shows and art installations.
Completed so far as part of the first New Waverley development phase are two Whitbread hotels – a Premier Inn and a Hub by Premier Inn – which opened in January 2016, and The Arches, a row of 19 Victorian arches which have been transformed to create an exciting new leisure and retail district for the city.
In December last year the new 146-apartment Aparthotels Adagio on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile opened for business, overlooking a new football pitch-sized public square – becoming the first significant public space to open in the city centre for more than 50 years. In July 2017, it was announced that some 2,900 civil servants will be located at New Waverley’s next phase office development as part of a new UK Government hub.
Design & Build Contractors McAleer & Rushe completed the majority of the first phase development, including the two Whitbread hotels and the Aparthotels Adagio. The company’s Contracts Director, Shane McCullagh added: “From the start, this has been an innovative and progressive partnership which has become a blueprint for complex construction projects in highly sensitive urban areas.”
“Our buildings have brought a real sense of place to the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, including the Royal Mile, and the development as a whole is now seamlessly integrated within a historic city centre environment.”
The RICS Awards showcase the most inspirational regional initiatives and development in land, property, construction and the environment. The annual event provides a high profile opportunity for surveyors, property developers, engineers, planners and architects to showcase their talent.
This is the fourth major award that New Waverley has won in 2017, having scooped top honours at this year’s Scottish Property Awards, Herald Awards and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards (Scotland).
For more information visit www.newwaverley.com