Hundreds of house hunters have registered an interest in a new development in Edinburgh city centre, and prospective buyers will be given virtual tours of the properties using the same cutting-edge Unreal Engine software used in hit video games such as Fortnite and the Final Fantasy series.
Developer Kelvin Properties said this technology would provide “hyper-realistic CGI (computer-generated imagery) walkthroughs of the apartments” at the 67 St Bernards development at Canonmills, which will comprise 36 private apartments and a further 12 “affordable homes”. It added that it was one of the first times this technology had been used by a Scottish developer.
The official sales launch for the development is today.
Kelvin Properties said property agent Savills had ahead of this launch received more than 600 separate inquiries for the 67 St Bernards project.
Ben Di Rollo, at Savills, believes the level of interest far outstrips any development in the city, and described it as "a sign of the continuing strength of the Edinburgh property market coupled with a shortage of quality new-build properties”.
The apartments will be a mixture of one, two, and three bedroom properties.
Kelvin Properties noted the development is “well under way” and due to be completed next summer.
Apartments in upper floors, including the penthouse properties, have views stretching across the historic Edinburgh skyline as far as Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh Castle, and beyond, it added.
The six-storey high-specification development has been designed by award-winning architect CDA.
It involves the transformation of a site formerly home to the Edinburgh Furniture Initiative into what Kelvin Properties described as “a thriving community in Canonmills – on the edge of Edinburgh’s world-famous UNESCO New Town district”.
Mr Di Rollo said: “Demand for 67 St Bernards is greater than anything we’ve seen in the capital for some time, and is driven by the exceptional properties in an area of the city which is growing in popularity.
“The development contains beautifully designed spaces that meet the needs of a broad range of buyers – duplexes for families, one beds for young professionals, two and three beds for upsizers, and penthouses for downsizers – that’s all of the incredibly high standard the market has come to expect from a Kelvin Properties development.”
He added: “The economic factors impacting the UK - whilst [they] are impacting the market in Edinburgh, it's not quite having the same effect, where there is a clear lack of housing supply for increasing demand. The city has always operated in something of a bubble in this regard, and consistently outperforms the rest of the UK. We’re seeing that in action at 67 St Bernards.”
The development will feature balconies, roof terraces, and a “showpiece, south-facing landscaped communal residents’ garden rich with biodiversity”.
Kelvin Properties said: “There will be a further 12 affordable homes situated at the development as part of the project, accessed via their own private stairwell.”
It added: “As well as solar panels and rain gardens, the development will offer secure bike storage and electric vehicle charging points in a secure ground-floor car park.”
Marc Taylor, director at Kelvin Properties, said the development brings desirable new properties to the Edinburgh market at a time when they are in high demand.
He said: “We’ve been blown away by the level of interest in 67 St Bernards – our first development in Edinburgh. The city has a clear need for high-quality, modern properties of this kind, and it falls firmly within our aim of regenerating former industrial and brownfield sites into thriving communities to meet it. We believe this strategy aligns very well to the newly adopted…planning policy framework.
“The standard of living 67 St Bernards will offer will add so much to the Canonmills community, and we look forward to bringing this exciting development to Edinburgh.”
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