JJR The Landing project – HUB and Smedvig have appointed JJ Rhatigan & Company (JJR), a leading building contractor in the UK and Ireland, as the main contractor to deliver the first phase of The Landing project in Maidenhead, which is being funded by the build-to-rent operator Get Living for £155m.
JJR has now started construction on site, with a first phase completion date expected in Winter 2024.
The 3.5-acre mixed-use scheme is set to revitalise Maidenhead town centre, giving a much-needed boost to this key commuter hub. The first phase will deliver 429 new homes alongside 23,000 sq ft of ground floor retail space and extensive new public realm.
This is HUB’s second partnership with the Irish construction giant, which is currently on-site completing a £53m mixed-residential scheme in Abbey Wood, Greenwich, and marks JJR’s further expansion into the UK residential sector.
“This is our biggest contract so far in the UK,” explains Ger Ronayne, Chief Executive Officer of JJR. “It significantly builds on our continuing success in the UK market as the business expands and meets the market challenges head on, to deliver exciting projects across both England and Ireland.”
Designed by award-winning architect Studio Egret West, the mixed-use development, known as The Landing, will also deliver 104,000 sq ft of office space and another 15,000 sq ft of ground floor retail and leisure space in two further phases. A new Garden Square including soft landscaping, trees and seating areas will create a green destination in the heart of the town.
The Landing site – a key part of Maidenhead’s wider regeneration that includes the £500m redevelopment of the towns shopping centre – is also adjacent to Maidenhead station, where Elizabeth Line trains will arrive in 2022, and will provide a much-needed link between the refurbished station and the town centre.
Damien Sharkey, Managing Director at HUB, said, “This is a landmark deal for HUB, being both our ninth forward funding deal and our largest to date. The scheme we will now deliver is particularly important for Maidenhead, based on designs developed through extremely close consultation with the local community as well as strong collaboration and support from the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. We are very excited to now start construction on this fantastic new place that will bring beautifully designed, well-connected homes, employment opportunities and community facilities to the town centre. We are happy to be working alongside JJR for the second time, with their reputation in the industry for construction excellence.”
Rick de Blaby, Chief Executive Officer at Get Living, said, “This is a momentous project for Get Living, being our seventh neighbourhood of large scale, but this time in a regional town rather than London or one of the UK’s large cities. With JJR starting construction, HUB’s vision for The Landing is being realised. It is our responsibility as long-term owners and custodians to ensure we provide a place for people not just to call home and put down roots, but to create a centre stage for the community to build and thrive, just as HUB’s team and the Council have envisioned.”
JJR has recently won a raft of awards for their work, including Project of the Year (over £25m) at The National Building & Construction Awards for Carolyn House in Croydon, as well as Contractor of the Year and International Building Project of the Year at the Irish Building & Design Awards.
Established in 1952, JJR is a Tier One Main Contractor operating throughout Ireland and more recently (since 2012) in the UK, focusing on Greater London and the South East. JJR prides itself on not only delivering sites on time and to the highest quality, but also in operating in an environmentally conscious manner.
Ger Ronayne, CEO of JJR, concludes, “We would like to wish Damien Sharkey and all his colleagues at HUB every success with the development and we look forward to working with them over the next couple of years to bring phase one of The Landing to completion.”
