Bennett (Construction) Limited has landed a £116m deal to build 373 homes in Cambridge.
The development, which will be delivered in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, is designed to boost the availability of affordable rented housing in Eddington, north-west of the city centre.
As well as new homes, the site will offer a communal pavilion, gym and yoga studio, private dining room, bike cafe, games room, cinema and co-working space, Bennett announced on 7 November.
The scheme, funded by a joint venture between US-headquartered asset manager Nuveen Real Estate and London-based Apache Capital Partners, will be developed by Present Made, Apache Capital’s build-to-rent subsidiary for building single family residences (freestanding homes).
It forms part of the university’s 150-hectare North-West Cambridge masterplan, which includes 3,000 homes (half of which for university key workers as affordable housing), 2,000 student beds, 100,000 square metres of employment space and 5,300 square metres of retail area by 2030.
An advisory group comprising members of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council has already provided planning permission for the Eddington development (pictured), which is expected to be completed in late 2025.
Ireland-headquartered Bennett, which also has an office in London, turned over €140m (£121.8m) in its most recent accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022. In the UK, it is building a 95-room hotel for Surrey County Cricket Club on the site of the former Ovalhouse Theatre in Lambeth, south London. Data-intelligence provider Glenigan values this project at £12m.
Bennett is also building 197 apartments for Pocket Living, as part of the redevelopment of the area to the west of Leyton Orient’s football stadium in east London, in a job valued by Glenigan at £36m.
