Rochdale puts £60m design and build contract up for grabs

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has gone out to tender for a design and build contractor on a £60m municipal offices development which forms part of a town centre regeneration scheme.

The riverside development, on the former Yelloways bus depot site on Smith Street, will provide 300,000 sq ft of offices for about 2,600 council, NHS and private sector staff together with a new library and information centre, public customer services, training and conference facilities.

To be completed in 2012, the building will be followed by a major new retail development and £11.5 million transport interchange.

The development is to be procured under a two stage contract. A contractor will undertake pre-construction services alongside the council and its professional design team during stage one and then construct the new building during stage two. The council will award a single contract covering both stages after a competitive selection process that will be completed by May 2010.

Interested companies will be able to obtain a Pre Qualification Questionnaire from online procurement web site www.thechest.nwce.gov.uk from July 1. Following return of the questionnaires and a selection process, successful short listed companies will be invited to submit a tender. Interested bidders have until August 3 to submit an expression of interest.

This follows the recent launch of the tender process for the Rochdale town centre retail development which was published in June.

Roger Ellis, chief executive of Rochdale MBC, said the project presents an opportunity to be part of one of the biggest public sector regeneration projects in the country.

He added: “This marks the start of an exciting period of regeneration for the borough. Completion of the new council headquarters along with a library, customer services and office space for thousands of staff will be a significant milestone for the borough, with the retail development to follow and the arrival of Metrolink.

“All this will go a long way to revitalising the town centre. These new key projects and developments will undoubtedly have a massive effect on Rochdale and create a town to be proud of, and this new office development is a key element of this. The change is starting to happen.”

The project is being developed by Rochdale MBC, the Rochdale Development Agency and the Impact Partnership.