Gloucester’s £107 million digital quarter development reaches major milestone

A major milestone has been marked in the creation of Gloucester’s £107 million digital quarter The Forum.

By Andrew Merrell  |  Published
EG Carter takes time out from its work on phase one of The Forum project to mark its progress on the city council’s ambitious project in partnership with Reef Group.

The construction firm delivering phase one of Gloucester’s flagship The Forum development has staged a topping out ceremony to mark its progress on the project.

Construction company E G Carter & Co Ltd, the Gloucester firm that carried out the £5 million revamp of the adjacent King’s Square, staged the ceremony to mark reaching the highest point of the build.

The creation of 19 apartments off Market Parade, with views to Gloucester Cathedral, along with 5,000 square metres of retail space to be occupied by Tesco, are on track to be completed by autumn 2022.

Dignitaries, including Richard Cook, leader of Gloucester City Council; Collette Finnegan, Mayor of Gloucester; Jenny Watkins, chief of staff to Richard Graham MP; Esther Croft, development director at Reef Group; Mark Harries and Sam Carter, of E G Carter & Co Ltd and Jonathan White of Quattro Design Architects, were among those at the ceremony.

E G Carter & Co Ltd started work on phase one in summer 2021, with Kier appointed in February 2022 as main contractor for phase two, which will see the ‘digital campus’ part of the scheme delivered.

This includes 135,000 square feet of workspace alongside a 130-room 4-star hotel, rooftop restaurant and bar, state-of-the-art digital conference facilities, a 9,000 square feet wellness centre and a member’s club.

Completion of The Forum is expected in the summer of 2024.

Reef Group has appointed agents JLL and Bruton Knowles to target local, national, and international tech occupiers – with the first property being listed for sale through Bruton Knowles in July 2021.

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