THE £300million 2014 Commonwealth Games village in Glasgow will be designed by the team behind the Scottish Parliament building.
By Gerry Braiden
THE £300million 2014 Commonwealth Games village in Glasgow will be designed by the team behind the Scottish Parliament building.
The athletes' village will be built in Dalmarnock, in the city's East End, in one of the biggest regeneration projects of its kind in Scotland.
Scots international architectural company RMJM is part of the winning City Legacy consortium and is expected to be confirmed as the successful bidder for the project by Glasgow City Council on Friday.
The winning consortium - which also includes developers and contractors Campbell Construction, W H Malcolm, Cruden, and Mactaggart & Mickel - scored highest in its promise of beneficial spin-offs.
Throughout the development of the village, City Legacy will be expected to bring community gains to the city by generating employment and training opportunities that will feed down to small to medium-sized businesses and social enterprises.
It is understood the bid also has the greatest potential for long-term use and profitability when the village properties are sold on post-2014.
The village, on which work is due to begin in the later stages of next year, will have an overall workforce of 620, of which 93 will be new jobs and 60 apprenticeships. The indirect workforce will be about 200-strong.
After the Games, additional housing will be built on the site and the existing facilities transformed into family homes, forging an entire new community in the heart of Glasgow's East End.
When finalised, it will include 1400 properties for sale and rent in the currently run-down Dalmarnock area.
The council has made the village site available at no cost initially to reduce borrowing requirements, although the appointed development partner will enter into a profit-sharing arrangement with the council at the end of the project.
RMJM has already been awarded a key contract at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
The firm will be the planning consultants for six key venues including the Delhi Athletes Village, Media Centres and International Airport.
A spokesman for the consortium said: "This innovative project will not only showcase the new face of the East End of Glasgow to a worldwide audience during the Commonwealth Games, it will also transform Dalmarnock to become a much sought-after riverside residential area.
"The Commonwealth Games and City Legacy's proposals will act as a catalyst to create an excellent new neighbourhood with well-placed community facilities and attractive open spaces accessible to existing and new residents of the East End."
Sports Minister Shona Robison said: "This is an important milestone and shows we remain on track towards delivering an outstanding Commonwealth Games.
"The creation of the athletes' village will sustain jobs, regenerate the East End of Glasgow and contribute towards Scotland's economic recovery as we build up to the launch of our plans to create a successful legacy from 2014 to benefit the whole of Scotland."
City council leader Steven Purcell said: "The fact that the private sector has demonstrated such confidence in this project shows that Glasgow continues to be an attractive place to do business.
"I look forward to the successful delivery of a key part of the Games and later, the creation of a stunning new neighbourhood for the city as Glasgow's regeneration continues."
Project will create 1400 new homes
THE Games Village is currently a 38.5 hectares site - roughly the size of 38 football pitches - of largely derelict land in Dalmarnock.
It is due for completion six months before the event and will have accommodation and facilities for 6500 competitors and officials.
Afterwards, and with a timescale running up until 2021/2022, it will become an entire new community, accessible by new transport links, and even home to a 120-bed care home.
The construction project has been won by a consortium named City Legacy.
Some 700 homes will be built initially, with a further 700 constructed on plots used for communal purposes during the Games. All will be available for sale or rent post-2014.
House types within the village will include four-storey 2-3 bedroom apartments, two-storey 2-3 bedroom terraces, two storey 2-3 bedroom semi-detached homes, three-storey 2-4 bedroom townhouses and two-storey 3-4 bedroom detached homes.
City Legacy's plan will also deliver a 95% reduction in carbon emissions from the new homes, a first in Scotland for a development of this scale, of more than 1400 homes and the care home.
First, however, the land will have to be de-contaminated in a process expected to last about a year and costing in excess of £6million.
As well as accommodation for 8000-plus athletes and officials, the village will host a restaurant capable of accommodating 3000 diners at peak times and operating every minute throughout the Games.
Service centres will provide laundry, television, information services and free drinks vending, mobile refreshment points, a religious centre, a fully equipped polyclinic providing immediate health assessment and recuperation area, a fully equipped gymnasium/fitness/recovery centre, outdoor training facilities, travel centre and police, fire and rescue facilities.
The International Zone will also house a ceremonial area, shopping complex including bank, post office, travel service and convenience shopping, an entertainment complex including cinema, internet cafe, bar/bistro and a suite of conference/meeting rooms, as well as media facilities.
After the Games, the riverside site will include an urban beach, as well as carefully located and supervised play spaces.
The homes will be priced at an affordable level, within the price ranges achievable for first-time buyers in the area.
