Work is due to start by the end of the year on the £15 million offices and apartments scheme which is being developed by Sheffield-based Merlin Estates as part of the regeneration of a 1.5-acre former industrial site.

The Broad Lane scheme comprises 58 studio, 25 one-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom apartments, aimed at young professionals and possibly older couples who are 'downsizing.'

Four office developments will form part of the scheme – a 50,000 sq ft office block, a 35,000 sq ft facility which developers say has already been snapped up by a well-known local organisation, a 12,500 sq ft speculative scheme, and the conversion of a red-brick Victorian school to create 2,500 sq ft of open-plan offices.

The project, designed by a team from SMC Gower Architects, led by associate, Paul Gott, will also incorporate a 76-space basement car park and 10,000 sq ft of green roofing for small plants to compensate for the habitat lost by the redevelopment of the brownfield site which lies within the St Vincent's conservation area..

Paul Gott says: "This has been a challenging scheme as we inherited and enhanced earlier designs to make them more practical and realise Merlin Estate's aspirations for the development.

"The development has also been challenging because the site is on several different levels but it is highly prestigious and very-rewarding to be involved with largely because of Merlin Estate's commitment to delivering the very best for Sheffield."

Mr Gott says Merlin Estates' founders and managers, Mike and Dierdre Boulding, were committed to providing high-quality architecture for their home city, so the design of the project was not dictated by cost, but by the aim to provide the best.

Mike Boulding said: "Paul Gott and the SMC Gower Architects' team considered our requirements for this site and have taken the design aspect forward in a practical and aesthetically-pleasing way which suits our aspirations very well indeed."

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