HBD completes £23.8m Acquired Brain Injury Centre

Property developer HBD has completed a £23.8m Acquired Brain Injuries Centre at its award-winning Chocolate Works scheme in York.

The 54,806 sq. ft. building was delivered on behalf of Brainkind (formerly The Disabilities Trust), which works to improve the lives of people with an acquired brain injury.

The world-class centre provides 36 beds across four wards plus four assessment flats, alongside new courtyards and a therapeutic garden designed to aid recovery.

The new building is also highly sustainable, designed to EPC A and BREEAM Excellent standard and with the flexibility to embrace new low carbon technology. It limits embedded and operational carbon, with emissions expected to be 29% lower than the national building target emission rate. Clean, renewable energy is generated on site via roof-mounted PV panels and filtered fresh air is provided via high-efficiency heat recovery ventilation units.

GMI Construction was the appointed contractor on the project which will now be fitted-out before opening its doors later this year.

The completion of the Acquired Brain Injuries Centre marks the final phase of HBD’s Chocolate Works scheme; a decade-long project that included the restoration of the former Terry’s Chocolate Orange Factory and recently saw the Clock Tower transformed into beautiful apartments, with the iconic timepiece ticking once again.

Tom Wheldon, Head of Region at HBD, said: “This has been an incredibly rewarding project to deliver – it’s a state-of-the-art, sustainable building that will help to set a new benchmark for brain injury rehabilitation, providing Brainkind with the facilities they need to continue offering the very best care and support throughout the recovery process. We’ve no doubt The Chocolate Works will prove to be an ideal location and it’s a very fitting scheme to conclude one of our most impressive and iconic developments.”

Part of the Henry Boot Group, HBD is an award-winning developer working from six UK offices. Its £1.26bn development pipeline includes many of the country’s most high-profile new schemes across industrial and logistics, urban regeneration and the residential sectors. It has built a reputation for delivering places with purpose, focusing on impactful development that makes a difference.