Migration Museum on the move to Dominus PBSA

Dominus has submitted plans to move the Migration Museum for Britain to its student housing development at 65 Crutched Friars, EC3.  Dominus plans to install the museum on the first three floors of its 780-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme near the Tower of London.  The developer, which rebranded from its previous name, Dominvs, earlier this year, was founded by Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, who migrated to the UK from Uganda during Idi Amin’s regime.  Moving the Migration Museum to its new home will cost up to an estimated £15m.  As well as agreeing to host the museum in the prime development, Dominus will underwrite the museum’s first three years’ operating costs and has proposed making a donation of £500,000 to pay for a team of museum staff to lead a fundraising drive.  The move will give the museum a purpose-built space that it can co-design and ensure is properly fit for its requirements. It will have a triple-height entrance and ground-floor exhibition spaces visible from the street plus spaces suitable for smaller events and education workshops.  The project is being spearheaded by Dominus’ principal directors, brothers Husnell, Preet, and Jay Ahluwalia. Jay Ahluwalia said helping to create a permanent home for the museum was “hugely important” to his family. He said: “We feel it is really important to do what we can to help shift the perception of migrants in the UK. Sadly there is so much negativity and focus on the so-called ‘migrant crisis’ – so it is hugely important to show that other side of migration: when these people arrive, they do great things and we need to celebrate that. “We are extremely proud to be able to support the Migration Museum to help tell the stories of the people who have made Britain great.” Dominus also plans to establish a stand-alone community interest company to help manage and run operations such as apprenticeships and charitable endeavours to ensure they are sustainable in the long term and receive the same kind of professional focus as the company’s commercial spaces.  It is one of the first property companies to have a dedicated social value team that ensure developments knit into the fabric of communities and add value at every juncture. Jay Ahluwalia said: “Dominus is more than just property – we want to create legacies and build wealth and wellbeing in communities, not because it is profitable for us, but because it is the right thing to do.  “When we started out back in 2011, the goal was to build a real estate business that was not only scalable and fast-growing, but was philanthropic at heart, going above and beyond to improve people’s lives.  “Today, everything we do for the business as brothers is driven by this idea, and the desire to create places and spaces that make a positive contribution to cities and communities across the UK.”  Charles Gurassa, chair of the Migration Museum, called Dominus’ support a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”. He added: “It is difficult to overstate what all of this means for the Migration Museum. Dominus’ support is, quite simply, critical to our ability to deliver a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art Migration Museum. We could not do so without it. The 769-bedroom development at 65 Crutched Friars is scheduled for completion in 2026/27, subject to planning permission.  To send feedback, e-mail akanksha.soni@eg.co.uk or tweet @AkankshaEG Image © 3XN Architects