Seven Acres, Cambridge

Jason led the acquisition of the site whist Director at Skanska Residential, the site was acquired with the benefit of an outline consent for 130 homes.The outline consent at Great Kneighton contained a detailed Design Code which closely followed the principles established by the world class, Sterling Prize winning scheme Accordia.

The scheme was made up of 3 apartment blocks and a collection of terrace housing, ranging from 3 bed 1400sq to 4 bed 2,000sqft houses with and 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. With the strong sustainable credentials and ambition of Skanska the project achieved Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 with an individually designed house, built using a SIP panel system, achieving Code Level 5.

The scheme exceeded sales expectations, out performing both sales values and sales rates of other schemes in the area. The most successful units were the larger 4 bed house which exceeded the ‘per sq. ft’ price of many of the apartments and the competing houses in the area despite being designed with more generous proportions.

The scheme has been critically acclaimed winning a collection of awards including –

• What House – Gold Award – Best House 2013
• Blue Ribbon – Ideal Home of the year 2013
• London Evening Standard – Eco Living Award 2013

Studio HIVE acted on behalf of Skanska Residential to manage the project. The team acquired the site and gained the detailed planning consent prior to co-ordinating the contractor delivery. This involved managing contractor variations, budget sign off, CML, final unit inspection and handovers. Studio HIVE also managed many of the technical aspects of the scheme, dealing with Section Agreements and finding technical resolutions to unresolved matters.

The site was complete in 2014.