Alumno Group has launched a public consultation into its plans to transform a number of buildings in the Jock’s Lodge area of Edinburgh into a 188-bed purpose built student accommodation scheme.
The proposed seven-storey scheme will sit on the corner of Restalrig Road South and London Road and will also deliver a new community pub, replacing the current Limelite bar, that will be run by the existing owner.
The student block will comprise a mix of single bedrooms with shared kitchens and larger studio-style bedrooms. Largely car-free, it will have just two parking spaces for staff use.
Numbers of full-time students at the five universities based in Edinburgh have increased by 54% since 2000/01 and currently stand at more than 56,000, their highest ever level.
Alumno founder David Campbell said: “Our exciting mixed-use scheme student scheme will serve to free up housing for families, addressing increasing student demand by providing accommodation on what is a highly constrained and challenging site.”
Paul Stallan from architects for the development, Stallan Brand, added: “Significant demand clearly exists for safe, attractive student living given the impressive growth in Edinburgh’s higher education sector and its ability to attract learners from across the world.
“Whether for a domestic or international market, a new generation of student residential architecture is a sustainable necessity for the city. In a direct response to the increasing demand, this project for Alumno promotes a best-in-class development that places student wellbeing at its core, animating a currently underused corner site through delivering a building that connects with an existing neighbourhood.
“The project’s scale and massing has been crafted through a thorough pre-consultation process with Edinburgh’s planning team to arrive at a respectful design that we are confident will bring a new vibrancy to this location.”
Stantec, formerly Barton Wilmore, is advising on planning.
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Image: PR
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