For a new 110 acre retirement village in Leeds, retirement village developer Audley Group has appointed Graham as the main contractor for the £52m construction of Audley Scarcroft Park.
Scarcroft Park, on completion will have 22 cottages and 106 two bedroom apartments.
Built in 1830 by Quaker wool merchant Newman Cash, Scarcroft falls midway between Leeds and Wetherby After 1945 it became the headquarters of the Yorkshire Electricity Board, being used as offices most recently by NPower.
This is the third site on which Audley Group has employed Graham. Preparatory groundwork began on the site in May last year, with the demolition of a 70,000 square foot 1970s office block. Work now begins on the restoration of Grade 11 listed Scarcroft Lodge together with the construction of 18 new buildings in the surrounding grounds.
Scarcroft Lodge, on completion, will be home to the Audley Club, housing communal facilities, including a restaurant, health spa with hydrotherapy pool, gym and wellness studio.
Start of construction comes after Fortwell Capital, a principal lender to the developer, financed a £52.1m loan facility to the joint venture between Audley Group and Schroders Capital’s UK Retirement Living Fund (ReLF) advised by Octopus Real Estate. This will be the fourth village planned through the joint venture agreement.
The value of Graham’s contract is approximately £47m.
Philip Rolfe, Audley Group development director said: “The pandemic has brought the need for these types of villages to the fore; where property owners can maintain independence while also having a community and the option of care and wellbeing facilities on the doorstep. We cannot wait to see the village take shape over the coming months and watch the restoration of the beautiful Scarcroft Lodge take place”.
Jonathan Hall, Graham managing director said: “The close collaboration with Audley and the design team throughout this journey from early design to contract execution has been another success story for Grahm Audley and the design team”.