As construction schemes around the country stall Glasgow City Council and Dawn Group, in a joint venture with Chiltern Group, are forging ahead with their plan to create an exciting new quarter to the east of Glasgow's city centre.

Collegelands will comprisie of more than 1,100,000 square feet of commercial and residential development.

Phase 1 is fully funded and major earthworks needed to facilitate the £200m development, believed to be the largest new start regeneration project in the UK during 2009/10, have begun on-site.

Planning permission has already been granted for the first phase of the scheme that includes all of the site infrastructure for the first two phases of the project, 102,000 square feet of office space, a 200 bedroom hotel, with restaurant and meeting rooms etc. to be operated as a Ramada Encore.

It will also feature a 250 student accommodation units, offering 600 bed spaces, to be operated by Watkins Jones and a 1,100 space multi-storey car park, to be run by City Parking – one of the council's arms length external organisations.

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In addition there will be off-street car parking and new internal roads.

The Collegelands development will reclaim the former College Goods Railway Yard, a huge area of derelict land at High Street/Duke Street in the city centre that has lain vacant for more than 25 years.

It will create Glasgow's first new city centre district for several decades.

Collegelands is anticipated to act as a catalyst for further regeneration projects and unlock development potential in the area, creating a gateway to Glasgow’s East End. An area that is also undergoing major transformation under the Clyde Gateway URC regeneration plans and impending construction of the Commonwealth Games 2014 athletes' village and National Indoor Sports Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Following the preparatory work, construction will start in February 2010 and phase 1 is expected to be completed and operational by summer 2011.

In March the Council announced its decision to take up a 25 year lease for 102,000 square feet of office space for use by its Development and Regeneration Services staff as well as those of and Culture & Sport Glasgow.

The Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Steven Purcell, said: "Delivering new homes and amenity space for the public and a sizeable amount of commercial and office space, the development of Collegelands will create a vibrant and exciting new area in the city."

Chairman of Dawn group, Alan MacDonald, commented: "In times like this, Collegelands is a tremendous achievement and testament to how public and private partnerships can work successfully to create employment and economic regeneration among local communities which contributes to the city as a whole."

(GK/BMcC)