With the demolition of an existing building complete and the construction phase close to starting, the Highland Council and Highland Housing Alliance (HHA) have moved one step closer towards delivering new affordable homes along with commercial units in Inverness city centre.
Replacing former supermarket Farmfoods, the housing project at 79 Academy Street will hold 37 one- and two-bedroom apartments, where 23 will be for rent and the remaining 14 will be mid-market homes. The project is being funded by the council, the HHA, the Scottish Government and the Highland City Region Deal.
Donald McLachlan, Managing Director at Morrison Construction Highland – the main contractor of the development - commented:
“It’s an exciting milestone for this prestigious design and build project. Demolition and site clearance works that began late last year are nearing completion with the main contract set to begin in April.
“We are delighted to be working again with The Highland Council to deliver this development in the heart of Inverness, which will see our experienced team provide new homes and retail spaces.”
Following on from redevelopment work already completed at 92-94 Academy Street alongside the conversion of the former Citizens Advice Bureaux offices into four one-bedroom flats at 103 Academy Street, this new housing project will bring more residential and commercial opportunities into the city centre. At the end of last year, the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan set out a minimum of 500 units to be built each year for the next five years (2019-2024), of which 70 per cent will be for affordable rent, and 30 per cent for intermediate affordable housing.
The name of the new development - the Wyvern House – is in tribute to the history of the site, from when the premises was an SMT Vauxhall Garage in the fifties and sixties, and one of its best-selling models was the Wyvern car.
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