Leicester's Waterside area has been given a new lease of life thanks to a £50 million project.

Work has reached completion on a new mixed-use development in the area known as Great Central Square, which boasts two major new hotels, a five-storey commercial development called No.1 Great Central Square, and a newly renovated Great Central Railway Station.

Contractor Morgan Sindall Construction worked with developer Charles Street Buildings Group (CSB) and Leicester City Council to bring the project to fruition, revitalising an under-utilised area of the city and boosting the overall visitor economy and business community.

At Great Central Square, a 10-storey Novotel offers 154 bedrooms and a variety of indoor facilities including a gym, meeting rooms, and a ground floor bar and restaurant. While an Aparthotel Adagio boasts 95 luxury studio or one-bed apartments, spread over six floors. No.1 Great Central Square provides 33,000 square feet of modern Grade A office space.

A super crossing was also developed over Vaughan Way to facilitate safe access for pedestrians and cyclists over the ring road, to the north west of the city centre.

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Richard Frape, Project Director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: "Delivering a mixed-use regeneration scheme comprising leisure, retail and commercial space of this scale in less than two years has required a truly collaborative approach from everyone involved. The local authority and Charles Street Buildings have been great customers to work for and our consultants in the supply chain deserve credit too.

"The finished project is one which evidences Morgan Sindall Construction's ability to design and build both the flagship developments befitting of a city centre prime site, and the accompanying infrastructure work vital to ensuring they're well-received and accessible.

"We're incredibly pleased to have completed on schedule for the start of the New Year and confident Great Central Square will play an important role in Leicester's continued economic development for decades to come."

Leicester's City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, added: "I am delighted that the city council has been able work closely so with local developer Charles Street Buildings and contractors Morgan Sindall Construction on the major redevelopment of this important site. They have been thoroughly professional and a brilliant team to work with.


"The ambitious scheme has helped to transform a long-neglected part of Leicester and, by incorporating major highway and public realm improvements, has created an attractive new gateway between the city centre and the Waterside regeneration area."

National property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard worked in partnership with the main contractor throughout.

The architects involved in the scheme were Stephen George + Partners which acted as master planners and designed the office and station; Leech Rhodes Walker which designed the hotels; and the Andrew Davis Partnership which designed the Great Central Square public realm.

(CM/MH)