A topping out ceremony was held at Catherine House, Portsmouth’s latest landmark student building, to mark the completion of its superstructure this week. The occasion was attended by representatives from multi award-winning student accommodation provider The Student Housing Company, its parent company GSA and the building’s contractors McAleer & Rushe.
The Catherine House project has completely transformed and extended the existing Zurich House on Stanhope Road, with the new building set for occupation in August 2017. The original structure was given a state-of-the-art refurbishment while an adjoining building was developed to provide enough space to deliver 1,000 much-needed high-specification student rooms in a combination of three to six bedroom cluster flats, studios and one bedroom apartments.
The property is located in a prime location just few minutes’ walk from the city centre, the University of Portsmouth and opposite Portsmouth and Southsea railway station and will include a reception, common room, cycle storage, car park, sky lounge and public shops, providing the perfect balance of convenience, comfort and sociability.
Sarah Linton-Walls, sales and marketing director at The Student Housing Company, which will operate the building upon opening, said:
With room for 1,000 students, Catherine House is one of our most ambitious projects to date and the fact that you can see it standing out on the skyline as you enter this attractive city makes it all the more exciting for us. We can’t wait to open our doors to Portsmouth’s students next year – we’ve no doubt they’ll feel perfectly at home in this top of the range, bespoke student accommodation which raises the industry standard.
Dominic Trainor, contracts director at McAleer & Rushe, said:
As Catherine House tops out and makes its mark on the Portsmouth skyline, now is a good time to reflect on the close working relationship between McAleer & Rushe, The Student Housing Company and GSA that has made this such an exciting project to be involved with. Following the Catherine House project and the recent successful completion of the Back Of The Walls project in Southampton, we look forward to future developments and continuing the mutually-beneficial relationship with The Student Housing Company and its new parent company GSA.
