COS has announced the opening of its latest London store this Autumn at the historic Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, an innovative shopping and lifestyle district designed by leading architectural firm, Heatherwick Studio. The Coal Drops Yard store marks an exciting milestone for COS. Having firmly established its legacy of artist collaborations which celebrate the brand’s influences from the fields of design and architecture, COS will share its inspirations and interests in one hybrid space, unveiling a reimagined store concept, and offering a wholly unique brand experience. The store will act as a multifunctional platform which will host works from established and emerging artists, while integrating independent wellbeing, lifestyle brands and publishing houses alongside handpicked edits from the COS collection. Situated inside the listed section of this transformed former Victorian industrial yard, the space spans across three floors and 577sqm (6210 sq ft). The interior follows the COS aesthetic, whilst respectfully acknowledging the historical details of the original building. Coal Drops Yard is the new shopping and lifestyle district in London’s King’s Cross. Originally established in 1850 to handle the eight million tonnes of coal delivered to the capital each year, and latterly the location of nightclubs Bagley’s and The Cross, the area is now reopening, reinvented by the acclaimed Heatherwick Studio, which has interwoven a contemporary design with the surviving structures, streets and rich ironwork of the original Victorian coal drops that were located on the site. Coal Drops Yard will now be home to over fifty stores, top restaurants and cafés and new public spaces, making it an oasis-like space for visitors to dwell, discover and explore. Special in-store events, workshops, pop-ups and talks will all feature as part of an ongoing programme of activities. The stores themselves will be showcases for some of the world’s most forward-thinking retailers, each an experience and all one-off concepts created using the unique heritage spaces they sit within. With its innovative shopping experience, canalside location in the heart of King’s Cross and state-of-the-art architecture, Coal Drops Yard is set to become a magnet for shoppers and visitors from across London, the UK and further afield when it opens this October.

Most hotels want their guests to spend time in them; however, for millennial travellers, the priority is to get out and experience the city. Assembly is a new hotel brand from Criterion Capital, designed to inspire people to make the most out of their trip. Branding agency Ragged Edge partnered with Criterion to define a proposition aimed at young urban travellers, and bring it to life across every touchpoint, from identity right through to the customer experience. The first Assembly hotel opened last month on Charing Cross Road. A single-minded focus In today’s ultra-competitive hotel market, affordable hotel chains must achieve 97% occupancy to succeed. This drives many of them to try to be all things to all people. Criterion saw the market differently, aiming to deliver a compelling offer for a specific audience of experience-hungry travellers with distinctive wants and needs. Out went mini bars, towelling robes and tvs, in favour of the things that really matter – best in class beds, showers, sound-proofing and wi-fi and most importantly, a unmatched location to go and explore the city. Get up and go “Young travellers don’t come to the West End to hang out in a hotel room,” said Max Ottignon, Ragged Edge Co-founder. “So we set out to fuel their sense of adventure. The brand idea – Get Up and Go – reflects Assembly’s disruptive approach, and informed every element of the offer, from identity through to customer service.” An adventurous identity founded on a bespoke typeface The identity was designed as the antidote to the inoffensively bland aesthetic favoured by other millennial-focused hotel brands.It was built around ‘Assembled’, a bespoke typeface designed to reflect the diverse range of experiences on the hotel’s doorstep. The eye-catching letterforms are used playfully throughout the customer experience, scattered across layouts in a visual representation of the brand idea. Bringing the brand to life The agency delivered a full range of assets, from room art, purchased from locals in the area, right through to disruptive takes on the expected suite of hotel collateral. They also designed and wrote a website that aims to capture the energy of the hotel experience, far away from templated feel adopted by much of the category. Built to scale “We’ve created a powerful proposition designed to meet the distinct needs of young, urban travellers. That single-minded focus has allowed us to create a brand that combines an incredible location, affordability and comfort, without compromising on character or excitement. Assembly has already been a resounding success in London, paving the way for planned new sites in some of Europe’s most vibrant cities,” said Asif Aziz, Criterion Capital.

Nottingham City Council has been asked to award a contract for the construction of the Broadmarsh Car Park and Bus Station scheme part of the £250 million regeneration of Nottingham city centre. Member sof the Council’s executive board will be asked at a meeting next week to approve the project and award a contract for construction. “This is an important milestone in the project that will enable this exciting development to be delivered,” said Council leader John Collins. “The positive impact of investment to date, such as the transport hub at the station, the latest tram extension and the transformation of Station Street, can already be seen in the form of renewed interest in the area and other, private developments coming forward.” The Broadmarsh Car Park and Bus Station scheme will also feature retail units and is part of the wider Broadmarsh programme that will deliver significant regeneration on the southern side of the city centre and complement intu’s redevelopment of the shopping centre. “Work began recently on the new Nottingham College and the castle refurbishment is now under way,” said Cllr Collins. “Moving ahead with the new car park and bus station development is the next piece of the jigsaw and can only further promote this regeneration momentum, bringing undoubted economic benefits to the city centre, and providing a high quality addition to the streetscape between the station and the city centre.” The Car Park development replaces the previous 1960s building, which was demolished earlier this year, offering a 1,341-spaces car park, a modern bus station and retail units in Carrington Street, Collin Street and along the concourse area fronting onto the bus station. The £250 million investment includes developments in the wider Broadmarsh area, such as the car park, bus station, shopping centre, college and castle. These developments are expected to create 3,000 jobs, £10 billion GVA uplift over ten years and attract around three million new visitor every year. The car park development alone is forecast to create more than 100 jobs and generate almost £3 million a year for the Nottingham economy.

A new £160 million retail designer outlet will be brought to Cannock in West Midlands by Bowmer & Kirkland (B&K). McArthurGlen has confirmed site preparation and earth works will begin this month to create a landmark 285,000 sq ft retail destination and community hub for the area. The development of Cannock Designer Outlet has been on the table since December 2017 when McArthurGlen announced a joint venture with Aviva Investors, The Richardson Family and U+I. The first phase of the scheme will feature 80 premium and luxury brands, along with a selection of restaurants and cafes, a children’s play area, bike parking for cyclists and 1,400 car parking spaced. The outlet is expected to be completed by 2020. “We are thrilled to start construction on this milestone development for Cannock. The new centre will generate significant employment for the local area and create a new retail destination for the region, serving 11 million local residents. Cannock Designer Outlet will be built to the highest standards of architectural design and sustainability, reflecting and respecting the the surrounding natural landscape,” said Gary Bond, Joint Managing Director of Development at McArthurGlen. In addition, as part of the investment is also the enhancement and ongoing maintenance of the Mill Green Natural Park, improvements to Cannock Town Centre and the railway station, and support for developing skills and employment prospects for local people. “The reality of creating one of the most significant things to happen in the district in recent memory is definitely here now, with this exciting news. As construction commences we will be working closely with McArthurGlen to ensure that disruption is kept to the minimum for our residents, as we progress to a development we can all be very proud about,” commented Council Leader George Adamson.

Total Developments Ltd has acquired a 16-acre site with planning consent in place for 265,000 sq ft of mixed-employment development.The vacant site occupies a key location fronting the A63 in the Aire Valley area of Leeds and its development has the potential to provide up to 500 new jobs for the area. The sale of the site was completed by Keyland Developments Ltd, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister-company to Yorkshire Water, following a market campaign by industrial property specialists Gent Visick. “We are delighted to announce the sale of this site, which is one of the most strategically linked development opportunities in the region,” said Ryan Unsworth, development manager at Keyland Developments Ltd. “The shortage of industrial accommodation across the wider Yorkshire area is well-known and bringing forward this development will significantly help to manage the lack of available, new industrial space.” The approved scheme will provide 265,000 sq ft of B1, B2, and B8 industrial and commercial space, creating a prosperous new employment hub that can be accessed directly off the A63 East Leeds Link Road Thornes Farm Roundabout. “The level of interest received through our marketing is indicative of the quality of this asset,” said Rupert Visick from Gent Visick.“Total Developments purchased the site on an unconditional basis against stiff competition which is testament to their faith in the location and belief in the strength of the market for mid-sized distribution boxes.” The site is located off Pontefract Lane between the existing Cross Green Industrial Estate and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone, giving easy access to the M62 motorway, as well as a direct link into central Leeds.

Construction permission was given to Sir Robert McAlpine for the next phase of Manchester’s Citylabs biomedical research campus. Following the successful pre-let on the Citylab 2.0 building from global diagnostics firm QIAGEN, joint venture developers Manchester Science Partnerships and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust received approval for the next phase. “We are proud to be part of the partnership that has led to this hugely important deal for our great city, and a thrilled that our long-standing customer QIAGEN has chosen our Citylabs 2.0 for their new home as they make this significant expansion,” said Tom Renn, Managing Director of Manchester Science Partnerships. Subject to the completion of further design work and funding being secured, the partners intend to move forward with Citylabs 3.0 as soon as possible. Together, the projects will involve an investment of approximately £60 million in the heart of Manchester’s Innovation District. Citylabs 2.0 and 3.0 will be located on the corner of Oxford Road and Hathersage Road, opposite Whitworth Park, with the £30 million Citylabs 2.0 comprising 89.500 sq ft of lab and office space.The first £25 million phase of the scheme was completed by Lendlease in 2014. “With our joint venture partner, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, we are excited to progress our £60 million, 220,000 sq ft Citylabs campus extension which will enable the creation of a world-leading precision medicine campus in Manchester,” added Tom Renn. Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) is the UK’s leading provider of specialist environments and growth support to science and technology companies on their journey to business success. With campus facilities across Manchester and Cheshire, they offer incubation, laboratory, office and meeting space for businesses at all the different stages of their lifecycle, from start-up to global corporate. As a partnership business comprising key education, research and clinical organisations across the Manchester city region, MSP’s wider network connects it into initiatives across the whole of the UK, providing unrivalled access to funding, markets, talent supply and professional services.