Progress on Phase 1 of the Midsteeple Quarter Project
An update on the progress of Phase 1, formerly known as The Bakers Oven, from Midsteeple Quarter Executive Director, Scott Mackay
Back in March, we announced the exciting next phase of the Midsteeple Quarter Project and a huge step forward for the regeneration of Dumfries High Street with the redevelopment work of 135-139 High Street.
This building is the first in a group of underused buildings on Dumfries High Street which Midsteeple Quarter have identified as a site for our bold initiative to see local people developing their own High Street as a contemporary living, working, socialising, learning and enterprising hub – a new vision of Dumfries town centre based on local views and aspirations.
The first steps of the redevelopment back in March and April involved the demolition of the rear of the existing building down to ground level to allow an archaeological excavation to be carried out. Throughout the months of May and June, the archaeological work has been progressing, with the layers of building gradually being lifted down to the earliest period.
The archaeological work is now drawing to a close, however, it has proved extremely interesting with various layers of previous building floors being visible due to the excavations. These were sensitively exposed and recorded in full fulfilment of planning condition requirements with the involvement and agreement of the County archaeologist.
This month sees the next phase begin which involves a technical investigation of the site to ascertain the ground conditions, water levels and soil types. This will allow the engineers to design appropriate foundations for the town centre site.
In parallel with this site work, the design team have been developing the technical information required for tender and construction. The tenders will be issued to a selected contractor list with the aim of moving towards a start of the main construction project in the latter part of this year. Our successful contractor will be required to use local trades where possible and we encourage apprenticeships to help develop local skills.
The construction period is likely to take around eighteen months from a site start.The plans will see the site developed into seven new flats which will be available at affordable rents, one of which will be an artistic residency studio/flat. The street level space will be used as an enterprise space for start-up businesses and social enterprise, as well as continuing to support the community enterprise sector locally. The existing façade of the High Street building will be retained as an important element of the character of the Dumfries townscape. While the remainder of the building (1980s) will be extensively remodelled to create the first new inhabited Close buildings in Dumfries in living memory.
We are also delighted to announce we recently appointed multi-disciplinary practice NIXON as project managers of Phase 1 of the Midsteeple Quarter Project.
Led by Director of NIXON, Dominic MacConnell, they will bring their expertise and team's resources to the project.
“It is a privilege to lead as project manager on such a transformational build for Dumfries and its people. As project managers, we have a wealth of experience working with funders, multiple stakeholders and community groups, striving to ensure that interested parties are respected and working together to achieve our shared outcomes. We look forward to working with the full team and playing a part in the town’s new history.”
To find out more about NIXON go to nixonltd.com