Cumbria seeks designer for Lanes digital hub
The £1.3m project would see part of the Carlisle shopping centre currently occupied by the town’s library converted into a community learning centre.
Cumbria County Council is seeking an architect to design the 25,000 sq ft digital hub within the Lanes Shopping Centre on Lowther Street in the city centre.
A contract worth an estimated £180,000 is up for grabs and the appointed practice will deliver RIBA stages 0-7 over 38 months.
The space would deliver “significant community learning, digital skills, employability, customer, and library services at the heart of the city”, according to the project brief.
The deadline for tenders for the digital hub project is midday on 17 September and an architect is to be appointed in early October.
The successful tenderer will appoint a full multi-disciplinary team including structural engineer, project manager and cost consultant.
A principal contractor is to be procured through Cumbria County Council’s capital works framework at a later date.
The project will be paid for with part of Carlisle’s £19.7m Towns Fund.
The council has earmarked £2.35m for the scheme.
Among the other projects supported with the Town Deal money is the addition of 9,558 sq ft of space at the Citadels for business interaction and accommodation, which is linked to the University of Cumbria’s campus development.
