30 Aug 2024

One City Park: A Scheme That Reinvigorated Bradford’s Economy

- Client: Muse Developments
- Budget: £27,000,000
- Completion: September 2023
- Location: Bradford City Centre
- BREEAM rating: ‘Excellent’

At a glance

Marking the first Grade A office development built in Bradford for over two decades, One City Park, resembled more for the city than just the scheme itself. It offered a life beyond the build and an exciting opportunity for local firms to grow, as well as acting as a catalyst to further stimulate further development across the city.

Caddick’s design arm worked in unison with our client, Muse Developments, Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Turner and Townsend to complete five floors of state-of-the-art, commercial space. The scheme comprises a mixed-use ground floor, double height reception area and the provision for retail space and car parking, cycle storage and further amenities were also built into the ground floor area with four upper floors of office space and a roof terrace, giving this exceptional building a unique edge in the city. 

Since completion, the development has more than proven its legacy, going on to win a number of awards including The Disruptor Award at The Yorkshires Commercial Real Estate Awards, by Yorkshire Children’s Charity, as well as taking home Commercial Development of the Year for Yorkshire and Humberside at the CoStar Impact Awards.

The build process

Despite this landmark development sitting right in the heart of Bradford’s city centre, with an extremely tight footfall, Caddick was proud to deliver One City Park on time and budget - a major feat for a scheme of this scale in a prominent, constrained city centre location. As part of a wider commitment to the community, Caddick registered the site under  the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), with the project visited by inspectors twice during construction. Both inspections received a score of 45 out of 45, reflecting the high standards of project delivery and care to the wider community, environment and workforce.

A succinct build programme ensured this fantastic scheme was delivered efficiently, with all project partners engaged from the offset to ensure a ‘one team’ approach. With Caddick’s lasting legacy across the Yorkshire region, an established, local and high-quality supply chain, as well as internal facades capabilities, in CCL Facades, the scheme was equipped from the outset with a well connected and expert delivery team.

This stunning development owes its aesthetic to its striking façade, delivered by CCL Facades incorporating a bespoke package of industry-leading Speedpanel solutions. Delivering to programme in a logistically tight footprint required a meticulous approach to façade installation and once complete this building, the largest CCL Facades project to-date valued at £4.8m, delivered a landmark scheme with an impressive exterior. 

Life beyond the build

The One City Park scheme was designed with sustainability at its core, achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’, Wiredscore and Smartscore Gold standard, and an Energy Performance Asset A rating. Designed with environmentally conscious materials and building practices ingrained throughout the programme, the multi-million pound scheme included high-performance glazing, photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps to make sure the building operated on renewable energy where possible. Every car parking space has an electric charging point, coupled with secure cycle storage and changing facilities. 

Before spade had even hit the ground on-site, we committed our efforts to reinvest in the Bradford area and wider West Yorkshire economy with sustainable procurement methods used where possible. As a result of these efforts, 64% of the workforce and 71% of the supply chain on the project were spent within the Leeds City Region. 

Throughout the build, Caddick welcomed ten local apprentices to site through subcontractors, including Howard Civil Engineering and H&G. We were also joined by one T-Level student from Bradford College, as well as a degree student from Huddersfield University who joined the scheme one day a week for a year.

Elsewhere in the local community, several career events were attended by Caddick volunteers, including giving mock interview practice at local schools and academies, with over 250 young people engaged with in Bradford, through various means such as site visits. Going beyond what is expected of us as a contractor is vitally important to the Caddick team, which is why our teams also volunteered 33 hours of their time to Bradford’s Immanuel Project, which helps local homeless people and vulnerable adults, with the team going on to donate a further £1,000 to their Breakfast Café.