The developments, worth £50 million, have been submitted for planning approval and will be built on two sites purchased from the University of Liverpool.
Philharmonic Court, situated off Catherine Street, will see Worthington Properties demolish five outdated student blocks. The construction company will then build a contemporary four to six storey accommodation complex, composed of two separate but linked buildings, comprising of 354 student rooms in clusters of four to six bedrooms, with a private courtyard for students.
This project is particularly significant as it will see the retention and refurbishment 21 Georgian terraces that circle Philharmonic Court, bringing them back into use and made available for private ownership. A new pedestrian route linking Caledonia Street to Falkner Street will also be created, reinstating the historic street pattern of the area, and creating a green edge around the buildings.
A key feature of the development is the new contemporary courtyard enclosed by two L shape student buildings. There will be new public realm around the site which includes new and wider footpaths and greening of the streets.
The second of the two schemes, situated on Great Newton Street, will see the developer build on a former car park and disused former University property. The striking building will be between four and seven storeys with 267 rooms available, again in a cluster format. This scheme also has a private student garden and amenity area, made up of four connected blocks each with its own entrance hall and core area.
Steve Dickson Director of Estates and Facilities at The University of Liverpool, “The sale of these two sites is in line with our residences strategy and will play an important part in delivering a mix of quality accommodation for students in the city. Worthington properties have a track record in delivering quality student accommodation which was important when considering our preferred purchaser.
Christian Gilham, director at Leach Rhodes Walker, the architect for the projects, added: “Worthington Properties is set aside from other student accommodation developers by setting new standards of space and quality. This helps to create larger rooms all with ensuites, bespoke fitted furniture, a quality environment, student community space and distinctive architecture.
“This gives us the ability to be creative and unique with the solutions, all within a commercially structured environment. The resulting buildings are striking by not only the spaces created within them and by the external form, but also from the freedom to create accommodation with fantastic amenity space, modelling of the facades, great natural daylight, and a quality of materials that will mean that the buildings stand the test of time. It is a developer that understands that by setting higher standards and working with good designers, means they will remain at the cutting edge of this sector for a long time to come.”
Russell Worthington commented: “These are two important accommodation projects for Liverpool in that we’ll be bringing high quality stock to the marketplace, improving the urban environment and creating buildings that are architecturally special yet sympathetic to the area.
“We are proud to work in partnership with Liverpool University and Liverpool City Council to design a product that will help Liverpool University attract national and international students to the city.
“In addition, the investment by Liverpool University will help to create employment as we will be looking to work with suppliers and recruit from the area.”
Construction of Philharmonic Court will be completed in two phases with the student accommodation completed in mid-2015 with the refurbishment of the Georgian Terrace finished in 2016. Great Newton Street will be finished in September 2014.