Scotland

Dundee Waterfront: Developing District 10

Dundee Waterfront: Developing District 10

A new £1.7 million development to support Scotland’s growing creative industries sector continues to make great progress towards completion in autumn.

Situated at Seabraes Yard, on Dundee’s waterfront, District 10 will provide flexible office accommodation, along with meeting and networking space. The new development is being built from recycled shipping containers and, over the next decade, will support 38 jobs and contribute up to £10 million to the Tayside economy.

Discussing the development of District 10, Scottish Enterprise Director of Business Infrastructure, Allan McQuade, said:

“District 10 is an exciting new development that will stimulate economic growth both for Tayside and the wider Scottish economy by further enhancing Dundee Waterfront’s reputation as a first class location for business.

“Dundee already has a fantastic reputation for creative companies developing innovative products, like the record-breaking Minecraft for Xbox 360 from 4J Studios and Brightsolid’s work on findmypast.com, as well as being the birthplace of The Beano and Lemmings game.”

Allan added:

“District 10 has been designed specifically to meet the needs of these early stage businesses in the sector that require flexible accommodation which will allow them to grow as part of a vibrant creative industries community.”

District 10 is a joint funded project between Scottish Enterprise, the European Regional Development Fund and Tayside charity Matthew Trust. In addition, the project is receiving a financial boost from the Scottish Government’s capital investment in shovel ready projects.

Work is set to reach completion on District 10 later in the year with Maxi Construction as the main contractor and Aim as the architect. Christie & Partners is the quantity surveyor on the project, whilst Fairhurst is the structural engineer and BBHP is the service engineer.

District 10 is being delivered to meet BREEAM standard of ‘Excellent’ and within the ethos of the Dundee Waterfront ‘BREEAM Sustainable Communities’ bid. Works include modular construction and prefabricated elements, including a central core of offices created using recycled shipping containers.

Managing Director of Maxi Construction, John Aitchison, said:

“Maxi Construction is enjoying working with Scottish Enterprise and the District 10 project team in delivering a sustainable workplace for creative industries in Dundee.”

Dundee Waterfront: Developing District 10

Ged Young, Partner at Aim Architects, added:

“The shipping container layout has been configured to provide flexible workspace to enable the future occupants to increase floor area as their company grows. The common break out and meeting spaces will encourage knowledge transfer and networking opportunities to assist in developing a community focused workspace. This is an exciting development and will be the first BREEAM excellent building of its type in Scotland.”

Signage specialists Icon Signs were responsible for the installation of bespoke internal and external signs and graphics on the District 10 development.

Icon Signs Company Director, John Ferrie, commented:

“As the development is being built from recycled shipping containers, Aim has designed a unique feature comprised of dots, to make the external areas really stand out. The dots are made from self-adhesive vinyl and placed in a specific shape onto the containers.”

John added:

“This is an interesting large-scale project for the area and it is great to be involved with work of this nature in Dundee.”

District 10 joins the impressive Dundee Waterfront regeneration scheme which is expected to see in excess of £100 million of capital projects started or completed during 2013.

Dundee Waterfront is divided into five strategic development sites, each targeted at a different property and economic sector and comprises, Riverside (Green Space and Leisure); The Port (Offshore Wind and Tidal manufacturing/processing site); Seabraes (Digital Media and Creative Industries); Central Waterfront (Residential, Office and Leisure); and City Quay (Residential, Retail and Marina).

The Dundee Waterfront regeneration scheme aims to transform the Tayside economy by attracting and securing high value service sector jobs. The scheme will transform the image and perception of the city, further contributing to the economic growth of the region.

For more information on the regeneration of Dundee Waterfront, please visit: www.dundeewaterfront.com.

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