It may not look like it, but work is already underway on the new St James Quarter.
Behind-the-scenes activity was explained at a meeting in Elder House last night, hosted by developer TH Real Estate. The event was intended to shed light on the logistics of preparation, demolition and construction which will feature large in all locals' lives over the next four years.
Below we summarise some of the key points as they were presented. Questions will doubtless arise later as we take time to consider the practical implications.
Things to look forward to
- Hundreds of construction workers.
- Up to eight cranes.
- Lorries in and out co-ordinated ‘just in time’. Holding parks for HGVs in Granton and Leith.
- Construction vehicles with their own dedicated routes into and out of the site.
- The Digital City Centre Transport Model used to minimse disruption on neighbouring streets and through routes.
Stripping out New St Andrew’s House is already in progress and will finish in December 2016.
Trial trenches around the site are being dug to verify the positions of existing services.
Scottish Power’s excavations on Leith Street, Little King Street, York Place, Broughton Street and Picardy Place are in advance of a new electricity substation for John Lewis which will be built on Cathedral Lane.
A small extension to the store will house another substation, temporary loading bay and permanent fire escape.
Work on Leith Street will halt over the festive season. When it resumes in January, the central reservation will be removed to ease traffic flow during later demolition and construction.
Phasing
Retailers will leave the St James Centre by the spring of 2016.
The site will then be boarded off. Protective scaffolding will surround four ‘deconstruction zones’ during the estimated 18 months of demolition.
New St Andrew’s House will be first to be taken down, floor by floor. (No big bangs.)
The block adjoining John Lewis will come down last.
Excavation work for foundations and underground car parking will begin well away from active demolition. It’s expected to continue into 2018.
The new structural frame for the St James Quarter will go up in 2017. It will be clad, fitted out and ready to open in 2020.
Closures
The west side of Leith Street will close to pedestrians during construction. The crossing at the top of Leith Street will be widened.
Pedestrian access to James Craig Walk will be closed (but alternative access will be available for residents).
NCP and John Lewis car parks will close at the end of April 2016.
Environmental
‘Working with the main contrator, TH Real Estate will adopt sustainable construction practices, considering waste management, pollution mitigation, energy and water efficiency. The development’s new Energy Centre will provide hot water and heat to surrounding dwellings and neighbourhoods and there will be an on-site Logistics Manager who will manage the highly complex project during demolition and construction. Waste will be taken to Forth Ports, where materials will be crushed, meaning less dust and noise on-site. It will then be graded, sorted and recycled. It is expected that over 90 per cent of demolition waste and excavation materials will be recycled.’
Be prepared …
TH Real Estate’s approach last night was, as you’d expect, bright, breezy and optimistic. There was a beguiling animated film which explained the process of demolition and construction, and featured fly-through visualisations of what the new development would eventually look like in a world without seagulls, people spilling chips, and toddlers throwing temper tantrums at exactly the wrong moment.
There was seemingly limitless wine and never-ending canapés.
Attendees walked off afterwards with a goody-bag containing the contents of a typical construction worker’s shoulder bag: a stuffed panda, a bottle of mineral water, and a collection of plastic receptacles for face creams, eau de toilette and aspirins.
They are probably right to be upbeat. Overall, this is an exciting new step for the city with many potential benefits for Broughton and the East End.
However, between now and then will stretch over four years in the company of one of Europe’s biggest building sites. Even if it gets choreographed and enacted by the entire company of the Bolshoi Ballet, it's not going to be pretty.
Let us be realistic. Let us be calm. Anyone want to borrow our panda?
Got a view? Tell us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk and @theSpurtle and Facebook
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Rachel Bell Oh god look at The Golden Turd.. It even looks ridiculous from a birds eye view
Patrick Hadfield But hey... cute panda! I'm sure every construction worker has one.
Ross McEwan Brown shit everywhere
Graeme Purves District 9 - the ship has landed.
Susan Frisbet Sounds like PANDAmonium to me..
One of the consolations of age is that I'll probably be dead by the time this is finished
John Cromb Minus the golden dog turd, it's got to be a huge improvement on what's currently there.
New Town Flâneur @NewTownFlaneur
@theSpurtle The eventual hotel manger will, effectively, be Turd of Turd Hall.
Material samples for the The Turd / St James center hotel don't appear to be holding up to Scottish weather too well
@fountainbridge @theSpurtle And it's been pretty decent too. See if they survive winter...
@theSpurtle St James news raises so many questions. All waste to Forth Ports via Leith Walk 24/7, or other routes north?
Broughton Spurtle @theSpurtle
@anne_casson Quite. More questions, please. We'll forward them and post the answers as and when.
@anne_casson @theSpurtle there should have been a 'method statement' which would have idenfified how things like waste dispisal would happen