Development Partner including Pre Development Period for Fountainbridge, Edinburgh

Tender description

The City of Edinburgh Council is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified Development Partner for the delivery of a major mixed use scheme on a 3-hectare site at Fountainbridge. The development requirements for the site comprise of at least 436 homes and a separate office building. The proposals also include retail and commercial space which could be used for a variety of purposes. It is expected that the Development Partner would construct approximately 177 affordable homes, with ground floor retail for the Council, while the office space, remaining residential units, and ground floor retail/commercial space would represent a development opportunity. The City of Edinburgh Council is seeking a Development Partner to take forward the development of Fountainbridge in Edinburgh in line with the Council's vision. The Development Partner will be required to: - Deliver a private housing development on plot W1 and W2; - Deliver affordable housing to the Council’s design guidance on plot W3 and W4 within the approved timescales; - Deliver an office development on plot E2 that provides space at a range of rents and lettable spaces; - Work with SP Energy Networks to deliver a new substation on plot E2; - Deliver ground-floor commercial space with active frontages at appropriate ground floor locations throughout the site, to include an element of space for social enterprises; - Deliver a low-carbon energy solution for the site, the objective being a zero-carbon development; - Deliver high quality public realm of adoptable standard throughout the site; - Agree a long term maintenance and management arrangement for the Public Realm ; and - Maintain existing levels of community engagement and support The overall layout or massing should remain broadly consistent with the masterplan. The residential development must comply with the principle of tenure blind development. The Council will appoint a Development Partner for the full site via a Competitive Procedure with Negotiation. The Development Partner would be required to work collaboratively with the Council during a (maximum) 38 week pre development period where both parties will work together to finalise the development strategy for the site through design; innovation; planning; and consultation and then taking responsibility for delivering it. This would also include, but is not limited to, the energy solution for the whole site, modern work-space for scale-up tech companies in the office building, active ground floor uses throughout the development and high quality public realm. The Council is seeking a partner who will work with the Council and the local community to deliver the vision for the site. For this to be achieved innovative delivery solutions will need to be found and both the procurement process and proposed contractual arrangements are designed with appropriate flexibility for this purpose. The gross development value is projected at GBP160-180 million. The Development Partner will be required to pay a minimum price to the Council for the heritable interest in plots E2, W1, and W2 of GBP13.2 million. Further information on the scope of this procurement can be found in the ESPD Supporting Document attached to this Contract Notice.