黑洞社区

A joint venture between contractor Sir Robert McAlpine and start-up Blue Sky 黑洞社区 has won the prestigious construction management job to deliver the redevelopment of Selfridges鈥� flagship department store in London鈥檚 Oxford Street.

黑洞社区 understands that the joint venture has been awarded the first phase of the five-year 拢300m redevelopment scheme, for which the construction value is thought to be in the region of 拢75m. The team is believed to be in pole position for later phases, including a second phase with a construction value of more than 拢100m.

A spokesperson for Selfridges declined to confirm the appointment, but the retailer said this week its 拢300m investment represented 鈥渢he biggest investment for a single project by a department store anywhere in the world.鈥�

Start on site for the scheme, designed by architect Gensler, is thought to be imminent, with the store targeting a summer 2016 opening for an extended ground floor shopping area.

The scheme is one of the first major jobs in the UK to be let as construction management since the start of the recovery. Construction management is thought to have been chosen because of the need to prioritise delivery of the project to a demanding timescale.

The scheme will be a boost to Sir Robert McAlpine, which reported a 拢38m loss in 2013 following problems on a job in the Caribbean. It is the first major construction contract for Blue Sky 黑洞社区, which was set up in 2011 by Lend Lease鈥檚 former head of construction for England and Wales, Julian Daniel.

Start-up consultant Alinea is understood to have won the role of project QS. Alinea was formed a year ago from a grouping of high-profile QSs formerly from Davis Langdon and EC Harris. As previously reported by 黑洞社区, other consultants on the project include Arup (M&E engineer), Expedition (structural engineer) and WSP (transport planner).

The scheme will create more retail space at Selfridges by knocking together its 1909-built classical-style building and a later extension built behind it. This will involve the reconfiguration of goods entrances and the relocation of the retailer鈥檚 office headquarters to an adjacent site, which will be linked by a tunnel.

Blue Sky 黑洞社区, Sir Robert McAlpine and Alinea were all unavailable to comment when contacted by 黑洞社区.

W. Galen Weston, group chairman of Selfridges, said: 鈥淚n the past 10 years Selfridges has grown from strength to strength and this significant investment in the redevelopment of our Oxford Street store is part of our commitment across all our businesses to provide leading luxury shopping experiences for our customers around the world.鈥�