Carlton Hill Leeds Student property GMI

We’re delighted to announce that we have been appointed by GMI Construction for the mechanical services package in the £40m new build student accommodation project on Carlton Hill in Leeds. The new build consists of 604 student rooms in 10 and 11-bed apartment clusters and is 15 storeys at its highest point. It will replace a 20-year-old building that previously housed 239 students.

Kimpton have previously completed over 10,000 student bedrooms.

In this article we discussed the future of student accommodation and predicted that operating efficiencies would become increasingly important as the market matures. For us, this proves the market is already taking long term running costs into consideration and renewables will be driven through the sector to drive down costs.

The design incorporates a number of fully landscaped ‘sky gardens’ that are allocated to the individual clusters, as well as a ground-level courtyard area designed for study and socialising.

In what will be one of the first in the sector, there has been a holistic approach to the design of the overall site to provide affordable living, whilst creating an environment to support students health and wellbeing.

The project has a renewable theme throughout, with a solar array on one of the roof spaces as well as nine 30kW Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Air Source Heat Pumps providing the Hot Water. Again this is unusual as it provides up to 90-degree flow temperature. The water is stored in five 1,500 litre buffer vessels giving a store of 7,500 litres of hot water on demand, with electric panel heaters providing the heating for the student spaces.

Our work will begin in March 2022 and be completed within 12 months, with an opening scheduled for later the same year. It will welcome its first residents in September 2023 in time for the new academic year.

Richard Kimpton, Kimpton Managing Director, said

“We’re delighted to be working with GMI on this project. They are a company that has grown strongly by focussing on quality. This appointment reinforces our position as being leaders in student accommodation and Build to Rent provision. The fact that it’s got a strong renewable theme plays even more to our strengths and we’re looking forward to getting going”