Quartermile

File:Quartermile has more than 1,000 new build and conversion apartments.jpg

Quartermile is the marketing name given to the mixed use redevelopment of the former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh site, in Lauriston, Edinburgh. It was master-planned by architect Foster + Partners and takes its name from the fact it is a quarter mile (400 m) from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile and measures a quarter mile from corner to corner. It was built by Edinburgh developer Qmile Group, a holding company. The scheme comprises a mixture of new build apartments, apartments converted from existing nineteenth-century hospital buildings, new build offices, housing, and retail/leisure uses. Completed in 2018 after more than a decade of construction, it contains 1,050 apartments, {{convert|370000|sqft|m2}} of office space, {{convert|65000|sqft|m2}} of retail and leisure space and seven-acres of open landscape.{{cite web |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/09/03094938/14 |title=Appendix 5: Case Studies Profile |publisher=The Scottish Government |access-date=16 June 2014}}

Design

File:The £750m Quartermile development is located on the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary site.jpg

The former site of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh was sold in 2001 by Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust (subsequently NHS Lothian), whereupon Foster and Partners were retained as the architects for new structures{{cite web |url=http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/quartermile-masterplan/ |title=Quartermile Masterplan |publisher=Foster and Partners |access-date=16 June 2014}} whilst plans for the David Bryce-designed former hospital buildings were devised by Comprehensive Design Architects (CDA). The project overlooks and is connected to The Meadows, a large public open space in central Edinburgh.

Tenants

Quartermile’s occupiers include travel company Skyscanner, hardware and software solutions supplier Cirrus Logic, and legal firms Morton Fraser and Maclay Murray & Spens.{{cite news |title=Quartermile lands year's biggest letting in Edinburgh |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/quartermile-lands-years-biggest-letting-edinburgh-1451182 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=The Scotsman |date=24 April 2017}} In 2017 all commercial units were fully sold or let.

The Quartermile development also houses the Edinburgh Futures Institute, which is the University of Edinburgh’s interdisciplinary hub.{{cite news |last1=Donald |first1=Colin |title=Quartermile developers buy out owner funds as project reaches final stages |url=https://www.insider.co.uk/news/quartermile-developments-qmile-management-buyout-12583342 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=Scottish Business Insider |date=23 May 2018}}

History

The former surgical building was at one stage intended to become a 5 star hotel, designed by Richard Murphy architects, but no operator was found to run the hotel, this was then intended for conversion to apartments.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/a-change-of-formula-for-quartermile-1-966914 |title=A change of formula for Quartermile |publisher=22 November 2005 |access-date=16 June 2014 |work=The Scotsman}} Richard Murphy architects were at that stage still however involved with the site and were considering designing affordable housing for the site.{{cite web |url=http://www.richardmurphyarchitects.com/viewItem.php?id=2482 |title=Wharton Square Housing at Quartermile (ex Royal Infirmary), Edinburgh |publisher=Richard Murphy Architects |access-date=16 June 2014}}

File:Construction at Quartermile, May 2014.jpg

The site was sold by the Lothian University Hospitals Trust in 2001 to a joint venture between Bank of Scotland, Taylor Woodrow and Kilmartin Property Group for around {{GBP|35 million}}, having previously been used for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Gladedale Capital bought out Taylor Woodrow’s 50 per cent stake in 2005, while Kilmartin Property Group went into administration in 2010.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/business/edinburgh-quartermile-scheme-set-for-170m-boost-1-3170755 |title=Edinburgh Quartermile scheme set for £170m boost |date=3 November 2013 |work=The Scotsman |access-date=16 June 2014}}

The development was sold by Lloyds Banking Group to property investor Moorfield in September 2013.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/business/edinburgh-quartermile-scheme-sold-to-moorfield-1-3111632 |title=Edinburgh Quartermile scheme sold to Moorfield |work=The Scotsman |date=26 September 2013 |access-date=16 June 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.propertymall.com/property-news/article/33621-Moorfield-Group-buys-Quartermile-in-Edinburgh |title=Moorfield - Scotland, Moorfield Group buys Quartermile in Edinburgh |work=Propertymall.com |date=25 September 2013 |access-date=16 June 2014}} By 2018, Qmile was the sole owner.

Suggestions by the International Council on Monuments and Sites that the impact of the development could cause Edinburgh to lose its World Heritage Site status{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/un-slams-capital-s-quartermile-1-1424844 |title=UN slams capital's Quartermile |work=The Scotsman |date=4 March 2007 |access-date=16 June 2014}} were vigorously denied by the City of Edinburgh Council.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/un-not-opposed-to-capital-project-1-1424992 |title=UN not opposed to capital project |work=The Scotsman |date=10 March 2007 |access-date=16 June 2014}}

The commercial office building, Quartermile One, won the Scottish Regional Award for Best Commercial Space in the British Council for Offices Awards in 2008.{{cite book |title=Quartermile One |location=Edinburgh |pages=1–40 |edition=1 |url=https://www.eyco.co.uk/media/brochure/114/ed2269.pdf |access-date=23 October 2020}}

References

External links

{{Official website|http://www.qmile.com/}}
[http://www.edinburgharchitecture.co.uk/Quartermile.htm Edinburgh Architecture page about Quartermile]

Category:Areas of Edinburgh

Category:Economy of Edinburgh

Category:Buildings and structures under construction in the United Kingdom