McAleer & Rushe is set to build a mixed-use scheme in the City of London that will include student accommodation and a permanent base for the Migration Museum.
Under a construction contract worth more than £100m, developer Dominus Real Estate appointed long-time partner McAleer to build new purpose-built student accommodation with 780 flats in a 21-storey building at 65 Crutched Friars near Aldgate.
The new-look scheme will replace an office block that is now under demolition, Belfast-based McAleer noted in a statement yesterday (5 March).
The contractor added that it is targeting a BREEAM Outstanding rating for sustainable construction and operation, “as well as utilising offsite manufacturing, including prefabricated bathroom pods, a precast and unitised facade and both blue and green biodiverse roofs”.
Other features of the project include public spaces such as a “pocket park” and roof terrace.
McAleer expects to start construction proper this spring with an expected completion date of summer 2027, in time for the 2027/28 student intake.
McAleer senior director Mark Diamond noted that the contractor has enjoyed a “decade-long collaboration” with Dominus, including on projects such as the 202-room Hampton by Hilton hotel in Bath. McAleer is also constructing hotels for Dominus in London at St Paul’s and Aldgate.
The relocation of the charity-run Migration Museum from its current temporary home in Lewisham will end a 10-year search for a permanent location. The museum will occupy a purpose-built 30,000 square foot space on the ground, mezzanine and first floor levels with interactive galleries, education and event spaces, outdoor areas, a cafe and a shop.
Visitors will be able to enter for free thanks to a 60-year lease granted by the Ahluwalia family. Dominus’ founder and current non-executive chairman, Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, arrived in the UK in 1972 as a refugee fleeing Idi Amin’s Uganda.
A spokesperson for McAleere & Rushe said: “Approximately 20 per cent of the build will be completed using offsite manufacturing.
“Demolition works on the building (formerly offices for law firm HFW) will complete in the spring, followed by basement demolition works, and then main construction works.The main construction works are likely to be completed in summer 2027.”
