Newcastle’s tallest building, Hadrian’s Tower, will also have the city’s – if not the North East’s – fastest broadband.
The ultrafast full fibre optic cabling to be installed in the building will deliver connection speeds of up to 1Gbps (Gigabits per second) – around 21 times faster than the current Newcastle average and 25 times faster than the UK average*.
In addition to making gaming and film streaming extremely quick and easy – typically a feature film would download within a minute – the technology will also support smart security and energy management within the building, delivering lower costs and environmental benefits.
Such features are expected to appeal to the future residents of the 162, one and two bedroomed private rental apartments being created – thought most likely to be young professionals such as post graduate students taking up medical, bioscience and hi-tech jobs in the city.
At 82 metres and 27 storeys, Hadrian’s Tower, in Rutherford Street, just off St. James’ Boulevard, will be two metres taller than its nearest rival – another residential high rise in Jesmond.
It is the £46 million flagship development of High Street Residential – part of The High Street Group of Companies – and is being constructed by Tolent.
Anticipating significant growth in the private rented sector (PRS), High Street Group Chairman, Gary Forrest, is committed to smart technologies, which not only make the apartments more attractive but future proof them by making upgrades easier.
He said: “People with busy lives appreciate being able to do things online more quickly and reliably and at a lower cost. They also want to know that technology can be used to make a building smarter and more secure, keeping service costs down and minimising environmental impact. As technology advances, they will continue to benefit from the advantages it brings and this is something we are addressing throughout our PRS programme.”
The company contracted to install the ultrafast fibre optic cabling and manage the service to residents at Hadrian’s Tower is PCCW Global – one of the world’s leading communication service providers, with a presence in major UK cities and high-speed links to Europe, the US and Asia. In the UK, it specialises in supplying fibre broadband to large multi-tenanted properties, both domestic and business.
Chief Executive Officer, Paula Benoit, explained: “Not only is the ultrafast fibre we will install capable of delivering the fastest possible broadband speeds today, as technology develops, we can easily upgrade the service, delivering faster speeds and additional benefits.”
High Street Residential is developing or planning a string of similar PRS initiatives in major UK cities**. In total, these projects have a gross development value (GDV) of over £1bn and would create more than 3,000 apartments for private rent.
They are being marketed by leading property investment agencies and bought by institutional and wealthy private overseas and UK investors.
With its headquarters in Stockbridge House, The High Street Group of Companies was established by successful entrepreneur Gary Forrest in 2006. It has grown to become a leading financial and property group employing over 100 people in activities including large scale property development and construction, hospitality and leisure.