Willmott Dixon chosen for £63m Bristol build to rent scheme

Willmott Dixon has been awarded the contract by property developer Cubex to deliver a £63m residential scheme at Finzels Reach in Bristol.

The project will see 297 apartments built across two buildings on the former site of the Avon Fire and Rescue headquarters. The largest is Millwrights Place, which will provide 231 private rental apartments in a 14 storey building through a forward funding deal with private rental specialist Grainger, while adjacent to this will be Coopers Court, a 10 storey building providing 66 apartments – 18 shared ownership and 48 affordable - through a deal with Yarlington Housing Association.

Both schemes will contain a mixture of 1 and 2 bedroom homes, as well courtyard bike stores, roof terraces, a brown roof and undercroft parking.

Both schemes will contain a mixture of 1 and 2 bedroom homes, as well courtyard bike stores, roof terraces, a brown roof and undercroft parking.

This is the fourth time the company has been chosen by Bristol based Cubex to deliver a major construction scheme in the city. Willmott Dixon is currently midway through building the £33m Halo office situated nearby, and this followed completion of the 95,000 square foot Aurora office in 2018, the city’s first BREEAM outstanding office scheme. Willmott Dixon also delivered a 194 apartment build to rent scheme for Grainger with Cubex in 2019, adjacent to Aurora.

Like the Halo office next door, both buildings will be connected to the city’s district heating network which draws heat from a heat bore in the centre of the city. The two buildings will be constructed using a concrete frame structure and clad with brick slips, Euroclad Vieo, and Sinusoidal metal cladding.

Helen Gordon, Chief Executive of Grainger, said: “Demand for high-quality rental homes in Bristol continues to grow, and this scheme will add greater scale to our city cluster, improving our ability to drive efficiencies while delivering a great service to our customers.”

Peter Walford, Director of Cubex, said: “We are delighted to have closed our second high profile funding deal with Grainger in Bristol to provide additional new homes to our award-winning Finzels Reach development.”

Neal Stephens Managing Director of Willmott Dixon’s Wales and West region said: “We are delighted to once again have the opportunity to work alongside Cubex. As well as providing much needed high-quality housing for the people of Bristol, using our specialist local supply chain, the project will provide further stimulus to the local economy as the UK recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.”

Enabling works are due to start this month with main contract works starting in the middle of February, ready for opening in the summer of 2023.