Work is underway to build a £9.2m five-level car park at Scarborough Group International's (SGI) Thorpe Park development.
GMI Construction is the main contractor for the Leeds project, which is set to grow the mixed use destination that is already home to more than 900,000 sqft of office space and a hotel. It is the second major project for GMI on the site this year, as the firm is already underway with a £53m, 133,118 sqft office building due to be completed in autumn.
The car park, designed by architects Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher, is part of a masterplan that sets out Thorpe Park in a grid format more similar to city centres than other business parks. The multi-storey design is intended to create more space for other buildings and public realm features.
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Adam Varley, development director at SGI, said: "The construction of the new active travel hub will support better urban mobility and provide a platform for the continued expansion of Thorpe Park Leeds. Our new holistic and strategic approach to parking at the site seeks to free-up valuable public space and generally make the local environment more engaging and attractive for visitors from the public along with the people that work across Thorpe Park Leeds.
"Of course, the travel hub incorporates electric car charging and bicycle storage provisions to encourage more sustainable travel and we continue to offer free, expert transport planning consultation to all occupiers at Thorpe Park Leeds. We are also now looking forward to the opening of the dedicated new railway station with park and ride facilities, which will connect Thorpe Park to Leeds city centre in less than 10 minutes and integrate directly with Connecting Leeds’ ambitious towards a new sustainable transport strategy."
The project will provide 442 parking spaces, of which 10% will support electric vehicle charging, and is due for completion in the autumn to coincide with the office development opposite.
Andrew Hurcomb, GMI Construction’s Group’s divisional managing director, said: "This project further consolidates our established and long-standing association with SGI, which included being the principal contractor on the nearby office complex, which has made its mark as West Yorkshire’s largest ever out-of-town deal of its kind. We are pleased to report that the development of this multi-storey active travel hub progressing well despite the challenges that the pandemic and raw material supply pressures, caused by international conflict, have created.
"It has the potential to help accommodate Thorpe Park Leeds’ current and on-going parking needs with future-proofing being built-in as well as facilities to a meet the growing demand for more sustainable and environmentally- friendly forms of transport."
Dominick Dickinson, senior site manager, said: "The car park will form an integral part of the support infrastructure for the new phases of development that are taking shape at Thorpe Park Leeds. It will make it easier and more convenient to visit and work at Thorpe Park, where it will be a major asset by providing a modern, safe and well-lit environment to visitors and workers alike."
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