Despite the challenging economic climate, Aberdeen's St Nicholas Shopping Centre is gleaming from a £2m facelift by joint owners Land Securities and British Land.

Central to the scheme is Surveying Project Manager, Colin Kennedy, who is responsible for a number of projects which will refresh and revitalise Land Securities’ retail developments in both Aberdeen and Livingston.

Colin, who has worked with the commercial property giant for seven years, said: "These projects are incredibly challenging but will dramatically transform and improve the shopping experience for our customers.

"Coordination of information is key to the success of projects. Everyone from management teams at the shopping centres, adjoining or incoming tenants through to numerous contractors need to be briefed to ensure a full understanding of plans, procedures and our desired outcomes."

The St Nicholas Centre in Aberdeen is one of the city's prime shopping destinations and the improvements, which will bring it up to 21st century standards, include a cutting edge barrisol ‘stretch’ ceiling, modern flooring, new increased height entrance doors and contemporary signage to complement the ribbon of light throughout the mall.

Colin’s role involves extensive travel and he is responsible for the entire life of retail projects, from the design scheme through to employing and overseeing the work of consultants and contractors and meeting specific timescales and budgets.

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Colin continues: "Success of projects are judged on cost and quality therefore it’s essential that I travel to sites in order to monitor progress and deal with any consultant or tenant concerns. I enjoy the fact that my role is incredibly sociable and one which allows me to form strong partnerships with a range of professionals, providing a large pool of resources and experience to draw from."

Further improvements Colin is involved with include the re-design of the existing retail space at The Bon Accord Centre. Land Securities and British Land are extensively reconfiguring two large units to make way for leading fashion brands River Island and Topshop.

Colin continues: "We are working to strengthen the fashion offering in the city and the stores will form part of the new-look central atrium which will also undergo a refurbishment and boast top high street names. Their opening will also coincide with the newly constructed 54,000 sq ft flagship Next store in the summer."

The 28-year-old, originally from Stornoway, graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2002 with a degree in Building Surveying. After spending time as a graduate surveyor with the Trillium property outsourcing arm of the business, he went on to achieve his APC qualification working with clients such as BBC Scotland and Norwich Union. In 2005, Colin moved to the retail division, which he believes is the perfect area for him.

Colin added: "The refresh of the former Almondvale Shopping Centre in Livingston, now known as The Centre, cost around £2m and was an extremely testing project. The arrival of the 375,000 sq ft extension, Elements Square, meant it was important that we brought the existing centre up-to-date with a bright, modern feel.

"We introduced similar themes to match the new centre, including terracotta and zinc style finishings, new look signage and glass ‘pods’ to showcase products, all while the mall was open for business, adding an additional hurdle to the overall project."

Colin, who lives with his wife Anna and 20 month daughter Jemma in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, is ready to face a fresh challenge.

Colin said: "I'll certainly be kept busy in 2009, not only through work but the arrival of a new addition to the family as well as a garage conversion, is sure to take up most of my time."

(GK/KMcA)