Spectrum Properties Shakespeare Street school for North Kelvin Glasgow, Strathclyde Apartment building

North Kelvin Apartments, Shakespeare St

19 Feb 2021

All systems go again on project which saved North Kelvin’s Shakespeare Street school building

images courtesy of architects practice

North Kelvin Apartments on Shakespeare Street

Work is now underway again on the third and final stage of the pioneering North Kelvin Apartments development close to Glasgow’s West End, following a year of Covid-imposed shutdowns, restrictions and delays.

The Hamlet building, which will complete the preservation of the historic and much-admired former Shakespeare Street public school, now has scaffolding in place and drainage and foundation works have taken place.

And family-owned developer Spectrum Properties was able to give the new owners of the second stage – the Hathaway building – a festive boost by pulling out all the stops to allow them to take possession of their new homes by Christmas.

Despite all the hurdles placed in their path by the pandemic, Spectrum managed to finalise the transactions and hand over the keys to 23 of the 24 flats in Hathaway between the 18th and the 23rd of December.

“It was quite an occasion,” said Spectrum Properties Managing Director Bill Roddie, “to see all the removal vans lining up and all the Christmas trees being hastily put up in the windows. It was a real Christmas present for the area’s newest residents.”

Attention now turns to the final tranche of 32 flats at the site, where Spectrum Properties has not only saved the magnificent red sandstone school building which dates from 1915 but has created a new landscaped space within the Edwardian property’s playground to provide residents’ gardens.

Sales are on target in the popular district, which is a stone’s throw from the Kelvin Walkway which, in turn, leads to the Botanics and the bustling Byres Road area.

Mr Roddie said: “The old school at Shakespeare Street is a remarkable building which maximised natural light for its pupils with two-and-a-half storey windows.

“We are pleased not only to have preserved it but also to have mirrored its architectural qualities and tall windows in the new buildings while remaining in keeping with the surrounding built environment.

“For obvious reasons, all schedules have had to be radically re-arranged over the course of 2020 and the start of this year, but it is very satisfying to be fully operational again. I would like to thank our legal team at Levy & McRae who liaised with all the other professional services to deliver 23 conveyancings in time for Christmas.”

The Shakespeare Building is the latest in a long line of architecturally significant properties which have been kept in the city’s heritage portfolio by Spectrum, using advanced preservation and restoration techniques such as façade retention.

One of the largest property companies in Scotland, it has converted sites such as Hillhead High School in Cecil Street in Glasgow, the former Hydepark Public School in Springburn and Shettleston Public Baths.

It also converted art collector and city benefactor Sir William Burrell’s Great Western Road mansion and is currently engaged in the retention and development of the former Golfhill School near Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

Although Spectrum has moved into residential development in the last 10 years, its primary focus remains on commercial property. It owns some 700 commercial properties across the city, comprising 70% of its group holdings.

Mr Roddie said: “Buildings from the past century can sometimes fall through the net in the city’s estate and become prey to dilapidation, vandalism and water penetration. With the best will in the world, sometimes cash-strapped councils just do not have the resources to make the most of them.

“This is where outside contractors who have specialist skills – especially, like us, in brownfield and listed buildings – can make a contribution and give these important properties a whole new lease of life.”

7 Aug 2020

North Kelvin Apartments, Shakespeare Street Building

Address: North Kelvin Apartments, 29 Shakespeare St, Glasgow G20 8AD, Scotland

All systems go again on project which saved North Kelvin’s Shakespeare Street school building.

The third and final stage of a pioneering residential development close to Glasgow’s West End has restarted following the construction industry shutdown, bringing to fruition the preservation of an historic and much-admired old school building.

The second phase of the prestigious North Kelvin Apartments scheme, in a tenement style appropriate to the area, has already been completed, and in the conversion of the former Shakespeare Street public school all 24 apartments have been sold.

The project, by Spectrum Properties, has not only saved the magnificent red sandstone school building which dates from 1915 but has created a new landscaped space within the Edwardian property’s playground to provide residents’ gardens.

With 29 flats in the school building and 56 homes in the grounds, the development will help ease housing shortages in the popular district, which is a stone’s throw from the Kelvin Walkway – which, in turn, leads to the Botanics and the bustling Byres Road area.

Bill Roddie, director of family-owned Spectrum Properties, said: “The old school at Shakespeare Street is a remarkable building which maximised natural light for its pupils with two-and-a-half storey windows.

Spectrum Properties directly employs 75 people and the same number of sub-contractors. It is actively recruiting to cope with rapid expansion. Established by Mr Roddie in 1988, the company now has a portfolio valuation of £60 million and a turnover in excess of £5 million.

Spectrum Properties, Strathclyde Business Centre, 120 Carstairs Street, Glasgow G40 4JD. W: www.spectrumproperties.co.uk.

Background:

• Spectrum Properties is a family-run business providing high quality business centre space, industrial workshops and units, warehousing and manufacturing facilities and secure open yard storage along with business support services in and around Glasgow.

• It has also been at the forefront of the city’s built environment preservation, creating new uses for former municipally-owned properties such as Hillhead High School in the West End, Shakespeare Street school in North Kelvinside, Shettleston Baths and Sir William Burrell’s former home in Great Western Road in Glasgow.