NIBuilder 34-2 April-May

PROJECT

BLOOMFIELD WALKWAY COMMUNITY CENTRE, BELFAST

MCKELVEY CONSTRUCTION HAS DELIVERED THE NEW BLOOMFIELD WALKWAY COMMUNITY CENTRE WHILE PROMOTING A REAL, INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO THE BUILD…

TRUE COMMUNITY SPIRIT

T he Bloomfield Walkway Community Centre has finally opened its doors to the local residents in a brand- new building delivered by McKelvey Construction. In this £1.37m project, the original portable modular building was demolished to be replaced by a new 575 square metre build. The two storeys comprise a creche and soft play area, a 250 sqm sports hall with soft landing flooring, a kitchen, bathrooms and a series of multipurpose rooms for meetings and courses aimed at the local people. “McKelvey Construction is proud to serve the community by providing them with places to both work and play,” commented McKelvey Construction Managing Director Darren McKelvey. “The

main elements of the brief were the multipurpose rooms, as the Walkway Community Association offers courses and support for families and single parents living in the area, as well as the creche, which was added later on to the original project.” CHALLENGES McKelvey Construction started by removing the original modular building and garden, and levelling the site. “As the Centre is located on a busy street and the space around it is limited, we had to engage heavy traffic management plans to guarantee local access to residents, as well as the overall safety of the area,” Darren

explained. The work commenced at the end of 2020 and, unfortunately, was yet another project to be delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, as health measures had to be put into place. The team had already moved on to work on the first storey when a change in the ground floor layout also ended up further delaying the completion deadline. “The client wanted to include a creche area, so the project had to go back into planning and get permission,” Darren said. “We also had to change the access routes into the building. INCLUSIVE APPROACH The brief for the building of the new Bloomfield Walkway Community Centre

“We hope the new centre will make a difference in the daily life of the local community.”

74 | NI BUILDER

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