Student accommodation provider Portergate Property Management has welcomed the latest stage in the development plan to transform the Preston campus of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
The demolition of the Fylde Building is the first phase of the 10-year vision unveiled by the university.
That work has been going on just a few hundred yards from Portergate’s own £18 million regeneration project on Friargate, which is now moving forward at pace.
The two schemes have seen a raft of development and building work in an area of Preston city centre that has long been neglected.
The transformation of the 1.5 acre Friargate site will bring three new retail premises and the creation of a 244 bedroomed building aimed at providing Portergate’s brand of hotel-style accommodation to students at UCLan.
Part of that high-quality accommodation on offer is also aimed at post graduate students at the university and apprentices and key workers in Preston’s high-tech manufacturing sector and new Enterprise Zone. The development is scheduled for completion in 2016.
The metal framework of the building is now rising from the ground. Meanwhile the demolition work on the other side of the city’s Adelphi roundabout highlights that the university scheme is underway.
The new campus will integrate seamlessly with the rest of the City, benefitting current and future generations of students, staff, visitors and the wider community.
A key feature will be a re-modelled Adelphi roundabout with the construction of a new public space, provisionally known as Adelphi Square, drawing together the university and its city.
The project is also hoped to spark a major focus on regeneration and business investment in the University quarter with wider benefits for Preston and beyond.
Portergate chairman Anthony Jackson says that its Friargate development is also looking to spark inward investment in the area.
He said: “It is great to see so much work being carried out in this part of the city centre, which really has needed investment for some time.
“The university plans are fantastic for Preston and we hope that the work that is being carried out will spark that major focus on regeneration and investment that will really drive the University Quarter forward for the benefit of everyone in the city.”
