The new five storey design and build project was constructed on the site of the former Victoria Hotel and is located at the corner of Gallowgate Street and School Wynd.

The development has retail / commercial space on the ground floor and twelve two-person / two- apartment amenity flats with separate kitchens and shower / wet rooms over four upper floors. They are accessed from School Wynd from a bright, secure-entry central stair and passenger lift.

The project was delivered on budget and on programme by Saltcoats-based RDK Construction Ltd.

RDK Construction Ltd. was formed in 1992 and is operated by brothers Billy and Robert Kirkwood.

Billy said: “This has been one of the most challenging projects we have undertaken to date. The building was constructed over the footprint of the former hotel with a ground level structural steel frame. The upper four storey structural timber kit was manufactured off-site by us at our production facility with all deliveries to site occurring on a phased storey by storey basis.”

Billy added: “Both Robert and I have combined experience of over 80 years in the construction industry and try to push the boundaries of quality and design with each project. I would like to thank the project architect, Andy Kitson, from Stewart Associates and Colin Anderson, the project structural engineer from the ATK Partnership for their input. This was a bold design with many technical issues from a build perspective, but as a solution-driven company we relished the challenge as part of the delivery process.”