The £150 million J1 development will provide 300,000 sq ft of the highest quality office space and is currently Jersey’s largest private development.
Located in the centre of St Helier, connecting Broad Street with Commercial Street, J1 will also provide a brand new covered atrium with ground floor retail space for the public to enjoy.
Leading the project is property investment and development company Le Masurier who is strongly focused and committed to the Island.
The company, which remains under local family ownership, believes in working with the community as it seeks to deliver its projects, J1 and Parkside Village.
With these two multi-million pound projects in the pipeline and as winners of the Jersey Construction Council Business of the Year Award – Le Masurier is delivering some great opportunities to Jersey’s construction industry.
Brian McCarthy from Le Masurier told Premier Construction about the project. He said:
“We shared a vision for our site with various companies within the finance industry in 2009 and spent two years working up a detailed planning application which we submitted in 2011. We were granted consent in December 2011 and are ready to commence work once we finish negotiations with an anchor tenant.”
The main contractor on the six-storey project is a joint venture partnership between Sir Robert McAlpine and Camerons, Jersey’s largest contractor.
The architect working on the project is also a partnership between Sheppard Robson and Naish Waddington Architects.
Brian said:
“J1 is replacing some very old and tired office accommodation in central St Helier. We will be redeveloping from new so we will be demolishing the existing buildings on the 2 acre site. There will be public realm improvements and the creation of public space on the ground floor, with office accommodation will above.
“The materials that are going to be used are of the highest quality, such as granite for the flooring and a mix of quality finishes for the exterior elevations. We will also be improving the traditional facades on Broad Street. The office space to be provided is unprecedented in Jersey- it will be the highest specification in the Channel Islands exceeding all British Council of Offices standards and it will be the most sustainable form of development ever seen in Jersey.
“The site actually sits on the old historic Jersey shoreline, so on the floor of the atrium of J1 we have referencing back to old maps and we’re using different materials to indicate where the historic shoreline once was. As people walk through J1 they’ll get to see and understand where the changing shoreline was over past centuries and that’s coupled with water features and green landscaping for everyone to enjoy.”
Although the site is quite constrained given its location in the centre of St Helier, contractors Sir Robert McAlpine and Camerons have planned carefully how to make the project work.
Brian described the benefits to the community that the build will bring. He said:
“The project will last five years and will employ over 500 local employees within the construction industry. There is a statistic, born out of a UK Contractors Group study which shows that for every £1 invested in construction projects, the knock-on effect in terms of economic stimulus is just under £3. In this climate, £150 million of private investment is a major boost to St Helier”.
“This is a sizeable project for Le Masurier, but we’ve also got another large project in the north of the town known as Parkside Village which we’re submitting an outline planning application for soon. Both projects mean a total of over £200 million will be privately invested inwardly into Jersey.
“Le Masurier is a private family company, the former chairman was a Constable of St Helier and his father before him was also Constable, so both projects aim to provide a lasting legacy for the town and something for the public to enjoy for generations to come.”
At the recent JeCC Awards the judges said that Le Masurier demonstrated, “a deep and on-going engagement with the island’s community.”
Brian added:
“We were delighted that Le Masurier won the Business of the Year Award. This is testimony to the hard work and effort of my team in wanting to make a significant impact on the future of our island. Our thanks also go to the Council and all of our professional advisors and consultants for their contribution in ensuring that our projects are of outstanding quality.
“Getting to this stage of the process for both projects has required relentless determination by every member of staff, who have been solution-focussed at every hurdle of the journey. They have all demonstrated an un-wavering commitment to realise the vision of these two innovative and exciting development projects.”