Springside Has Arrived!

Springside, one of Edinburgh’s most anticipated residential developments, has arrived. A major launch event today Thursday (April 30) will open the door to the first homes phase of what will eventually become a thriving city-centre neighbourhood - with 600 homes at its heart.

Springside’s launch marks the next stage of the £250 million transformation of the former Scottish & Newcastle brewery’s bottling site in the city’s Fountainbridge area. As well as homes, the 9.5 acre site will bring together shops, restaurants and offices, linked by a network of walkways, public parks and green spaces.

The first completed homes phase releases 58 units, with around a third already sold. Around 40 one, two and three-bedroom apartments are now being made available with prices ranging from £169,000 to £610,000. The first homes release includes a range of living options - from some of the city’s most desirable luxury duplex apartments and penthouses to stylish and affordable one-bedroom executive apartments.

“Springside’s homes have, in the main, been designed to meet the current demand for smaller, more affordable city centre units which are furnished to the highest standards,” said Dr Ali Afshar, director of AMA which together with Grosvenor and Royal Bank of Scotland forms the joint venture company behind the development.

“Today’s launch represents a new confidence in the city’s housing market. There remains a significant demand for high quality city centre apartments and we have already received significant interest from potential buyers across the UK.

 “The Fountainbridge area has a huge potential to become a thriving city centre neighbourhood boasting a genuine sense of community. Springside is a great location, combining city centre convenience with quick access to Haymarket, which itself is being transformed through renewed investment and visionary development schemes.”

First glimpses of the new Springside development show a neighbourhood bursting with life and character. The building design combines with open spaces and public walkways to introduce a new look and feel to a familiar city landscape.

Inside, the new homes offer a modern living environment with plenty of open space and natural light available throughout. The homebuilding styles reflect a contemporary interpretation of Edinburgh's much-loved traditional tenements, with the building materials echoing the rich industrial heritage of the site.

Externally, the Springside development incorporates a public park, central courtyards and two new tree-lined avenues linking Fountainbridge and the West Approach Road. The city's traditional streetscape is being reinstated, with existing streets sympathetically extended to create a vibrant new community linking Bruntsfield and Viewforth in the south with the strategically important transport hub of Haymarket to the north.

A £9 million 200-space underground car park - one of the largest subterranean spaces of its kind in Edinburgh - is also part of the initial development, ensuring the wider development area becomes a pedestrian friendly-environment.

Springside’s rejuvenation of Fountainbridge has won the backing of screen icon Sir Sean Connery, who was brought up in the area. The former 007 star said: “Growing up in Fountainbridge played a major part in my early experiences of Edinburgh. Its industrial legacy left an important imprint on my life - and on the rest of the city. I am pleased that now, at last, the walls are coming down, and the area will be opened up to be part of the city.

"I remember the community spirit and that will now have a place to thrive. I hope that the better housing and open spaces will vastly improve the general quality of life there - and give the surrounding community, and the rest of the city, a local neighbourhood that it deserves and it can be proud of."

The first phase residential blocks have been named Ingles Point and Jex Blake House, commemorating the work of two pioneering female medics who practiced in the Fountainbridge area in the late 19^th century.

The Springside development will now host two showhomes - a duplex penthouse and one-bedroom apartment. The residential agents for Springside are Savills.

For more information and to register interest, log on to www.springside.co.uk.