Retirement Villages Group, Botanical Place

Project Summary

With the placemaking redevelopment of this West Byfleet site, Retirement Village Group created a retirement village, Botanical Place, to facilitate “vibrant communities; amazing lives”. Its design focused on creating a contemporary, open environment where its resident would remain integrated with the wider community. Through the provision of excellent leisure and retail amenities, the development would attract multiple generations to its newly built public village square.

This ambitious project required the demolition of existing structures to erect 196 retirement apartments, plus communal spaces, wet leisure, roof terraces, a sky bar, and car parking facilities.

MGAC's Role

MGAC’s contribution to this development was broad, ranging from core services to broader brand guidance and stakeholder engagement. We provided project management and cost management services as Project Manager, Contract Administrator, Cost Consultant and Principal Designer.

We prepared and managed the tender process from demolition through the main contract, managing the design team, the handover documentation process, the post-completion process, and quality control and compliance on site. We also assisted with planning, carried out design development audits and cost reviews, and produced and reviewed documentation throughout the project. By stayed close to the project, interrogating works and delivering monthly progress reports to the client.

Challenges

The volatility of inflation as the UK emerged from lockdown made cost estimation less reliable, so MGAC committed to major market testing in advance of the procurement process. We sought supply chain costs for all major elements which meant the client could proceed with confidence despite the uncertainty of the time.

Success Factors

The project benefited by MGAC’s dual project and cost management roles. This two-pronged approach allowed us to monitor costs and efficiency on-the-ground, and make informed decisions across all areas.

Our proactive communication skills kept the client, design team, and contractor informed at every stage.

Sustainability

Botanical Place is the client’s first development to target Net Zero Carbon Net Zero Carbon development. At the time of writing, it is at construction stage, aiming for both BREEAM and Fitwel accreditation.