Howard Osborne celebrates Mount Pleasant Halls topping out
A new student accommodation development under construction in Cambridge marked a major milestone when it was officially topped out on Thursday, September 27.
The ceremony was attended by members of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, who will occupy the building once completed, together with representatives from Howard Osborne LLP, the developers of the scheme.
Also present at the event were Legal & General (L&G) who are financing the development and a large number of the wider project and construction team.
Nicholas Bewes, CEO of Howard Group, opened proceedings and welcomed guests to the event, during which Andrew Osborne, chairman of Osborne, presented an engraved silver trowel to Matthew Bullock, master of St Edmund’s College, to mark the occasion.
The project, led by Howard Osborne LLP in partnership with St Edmund’s College and L&G, is on track for completion in summer 2019. Once completed, Mount Pleasant Halls will provide 277 modern, purpose-built rooms for students and academic staff at St Edmund’s College.
The en-suite bedrooms and studio flats are being constructed on the site of Mount Pleasant House, a former 1970s office block in the north of the city, demolished at the end of 2017. William Jewson, a director at Howard Osborne LLP, said: “We are delighted to have reached this point in the construction of Mount Pleasant Halls.
“The topping out has been an opportunity for us to celebrate and thank the wider team in reaching this important milestone, achieved through great teamwork and commitment. We would also like to thank the local community for their support and patience during the construction process.”
Matthew Bullock added: “This is a significant stage in the development of the college’s wider masterplan. Following the substantial growth of St Edmund’s in recent years, we have long believed that the nearby Mount Pleasant site is the ideal location for new student halls.
“The completed building will enable the college to offer on-site accommodation that will meet the needs of our graduates and academic staff for many years to come.”
Howard Osborne LLP is a joint venture between Cambridge based property developer and investor Howard Group and Osborne, which specialises in developing student accommodation.
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