Summers-Inman wins construction contract at Teesside University
A Newcastle-based construction consultancy has been appointed as a multidisciplinary contractor for a new student accommodation block at Teesside University. Summers-Inman will oversee project management, contract administration and cost consultancy services throughout the £21.4 million Cornell Quarter.
Over the past three decades, student accommodation has evolved into an established asset class in the United Kingdom, intertwining the higher education market with the real estate industry. With the marketisation of universities in the UK having brought new private cash-flows into the sector, institutions are keen to make the most of this seemingly ‘recession-proof’ resource, amid booming demand for accommodation at universities.
At Teesside University, this has seen the planning of a new Cornell Quarter development, which forms part of the university’s £300 million Campus Masterplan, comprising 300 beds in close proximity to the campus. Forming a key element of the campus experience for the students who live there, as well as harmonising with the immediate surroundings, according to releases from the educational entity, the residence is hoped to reflect the quality and aspirations of the university.
Work is due to start on site, with a completion date set for the 2020/21 academic year. Now, following a competitive tender process, Summers-Inman will be providing project management, contract administration and cost consultancy services from RIBA stage two (concept design) onwards, throughout the construction programme, alongside project partner Napper Architects and building contractor Wates – which broke ground at the site to commence the project in April 2019.
Resulting from the 2002 merger of two British consulting firms – Summers & Partners (founded in 1920), based in the North of England and Scotland, and WC Inman & Partners (founded in 1926), based in London and the West Midlands – Summers-Inman is a professional services firm headquartered in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. With further offices in Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, London and Strafford, Summers-Inman provides quantity surveying, project management, building surveying, CDM management, health & safety consultancy and clerk of works services. It has a staff of 120 and a turnover in the last financial year of £8 million.
Commenting on the opportunity, Ian Campbell, Director of Summers-Inman, stated, “We are delighted with this new appointment, our first through the NEUPC framework, but one of several major schemes we have worked on since 2008 when we undertook our first project for the university. We greatly value our relationship with the university, which we have worked hard to develop. Through careful management and clear communication, we have been responsible for helping to successfully deliver a wide range of projects resulting in significant enhancements of the Teesside University campus over the last ten years.”
The £21.4 million Cornell Quarter was the first project to be secured by the building and property consultancy following its appointment to the North East Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC) framework at the end of 2018, but it is just one of three projects that Summers-Inman is currently working on across the campus. The £22.3 million National Horizon Centre, providing dedicated laboratory space and associated support accommodation, and the £12.5 million Teesside University Student Life building are the others, with the latter due to reach completion in October 2019.
