The McCabe family's Scarborough Group International, the UK and international real estate investor and developer, has announced that it has selected Beijing Construction and Engineering Group (BCEGI), the Chinese construction and engineering firm, as their preferred contractor for its 24-acre Middlewood Locks development, a new residential and commercial neighbourhood located at the western gateway to Manchester's CBD.
BCEGI has been working with Scarborough on the design for the detailed planning application for the first phases of the development. These first phases will comprise the development of circa 550 homes, 2,700 m² (29,000 ft²) of commercial space and extensive new public realm, in the form of canal side footpaths and bicycle paths that will connect directly into the city centre. The application was submitted in early October with a planning decision expected before the end of the year. This would then enable Scarborough to start on site in Q1 2016.
BCEGI first entered the UK market through an investment in Airport City, Manchester, announced in October 2013. The company has been actively pursuing further investment opportunities in the UK and announced its most recent investment in St Michael’s, Manchester in August 2015.
Middlewood Locks received outline planning consent in March 2015 from Salford City Council to deliver a new mixed use community of around 2,000 new homes and up to 70,000 m² (750,000 ft²) of commercial development space for mixed commercial uses including offices, hotel, shops, delis, restaurants, a convenience store and gym. The development is centred on three large basins of the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal in Salford and is located just a short walk from the central business district and retail amenities of Manchester. The Scarborough Group revealed plans for the project back in June 2015.
The site has a gross development value exceeding €970 mln (£700 mln) and is expected to create more than 7000 jobs for the local region. The scheme is being developed by FairBriar International, a joint venture between Scarborough, Top Spring International Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed real estate developer in the People's Republic of China, and Metro Holdings Limited, a Singapore-listed property development and investment group.
Lee Savage, Development Director of Scarborough, said: "Middlewood Locks is a unique site with the potential to deliver thousands of new homes, jobs and a first-class business destination. The selection of BCEGI means that we are on track to deliver the first phases of the development and we are confident that this scheme will be transformational for Salford and its wider regeneration activities."
Mr Xing Yan, BCEG International Co. Ltd Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to be selected as preferred contractor for Middlewood Locks and have very much enjoyed working alongside the Scarborough team. We are now looking forward to delivering the first phases of development of this significant and strategic regeneration project.”
Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart, said: "This is another exciting development for Salford. Salford is growing at an incredible pace and the international investment demonstrates this. We have worked closely together with developers like The Scarborough Group to create new jobs, homes and commercial opportunities and bring large pieces of unused land back to life."
Source: Scarborough Group International
