Pillars’ £35m Urban Hub will no longer be just for students

The 425-apartment scheme off Moor Lane in Preston is branching out to include key workers as potential residents.

At the same time, Truman Design and Build is hard at work on the site getting it ready for completion in the third quarter of 2022. Already the steel silhouette of the building has been erected, and crews are in the midst of concrete works on the Sizer Street side of the site.

When complete, the 42,000 sq ft building will have a 10,000 sq ft internal garden and a vast array of amenities including a gym, games room, cinema, library room and rooftop café. Each of the apartments will be a studio with its own private en-suite bathroom and kitchenette. Studio prices start at £65,000.

Urban Hub is located within walking distance of the University of Central Lancashire’s Preston campus and the Royal Preston Hospital.

Broadening Urban Hub’s offering to key workers opens up the scheme’s target audience to more than 26,000 local teachers, social workers, council workers, NHS staff, police officers, prison workers and fire officers.

A Pillars spokesperson explained the developer’s move to open Urban Hub to more than just students:

‘’With ever-increasing housing demand and steadily rising housing prices in central Preston, key workers and students often have to seek more affordable housing solutions, while relying on public transport connections to commute to/from work or university,” they said. “Especially in the case of key workers, with their non-standard work schedules, travel times often do not coincide and travel can become a nuisance.

“To maximize the potential of the project, we looked for solutions that would add value to the PBSA scene in Preston as well as bring positive benefits to the local community,” they continued. “Our goal is to create a carefully balanced lifestyle development, with a mix of students and key workers and create an opportunity to improve work-life balance for both groups. ”

Pillars estimates that Urban Hub will be fully occupied within its first year of opening.

Preston-based David Cox Architects designed the Urban Hub building. The scheme earned planning approval in June 2018.

Rendering of what the rooftop will look like at Urban Hub. Credit: via Pillars