Loft apartments set to take city living to new heights
Plans to create Preston’s first loft style apartments in a historic Victorian warehouse in a £2.5m scheme in the heart of the city have been approved by planners.
Etc Urban Developments, a property company specialising in original, high-quality city living projects, is now set to start work on the regeneration project that will see the long-derelict building transformed into stylish new homes.
The apartments have been designed by urban residential architect, The Chase, which has created spacious duplex apartments and studios aimed at owner occupiers who want to enjoy the growing city living culture in the North West’s third city.
The warehouse in Guildhall Street was built in around 1897 as a carriage and autocar manufactory by Preston carriage builder James Walmsley & Co. It was converted into a yeast warehouse in the 1920s by the United Yeast Company.
The ambitious city centre apartment plan is being backed by the government’s Growing Places Fund, led in Preston by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and a part of the City Deal investment.
The Guildhall Street warehouse development will feature just 20 two bedroom and one bedroom apartments and studios above a street level arcade of commercial space aimed at restaurant and café bar or retail use.
Etc Urban says it plans to retain as many of the original warehouse features as possible – designing them into each of the apartments, which will go on sale later in 2017.
The team behind Etc Urban, which is based in Preston and London, claims wide experience delivering innovative, high-quality city centre residential projects across the UK.
Neil Thornton, director of Etc Urban Developments, said: “With the backing of the Growing Places Fund and full support from Preston Council’s planning team, we can make a start on this exciting project restoring an historic and important commercial building in Preston from the Victorian era back to full use in the 21st century.
“Preston city centre needs the kind of heritage-led residential development that has helped to transform the centres of other Northern cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield.
“A city living culture brings people back into the centre to live, work and play has helped to revitalise the day and night-time economies of these cities.
“The intention is for the Guildhall Street warehouse conversion project to act as a catalyst for further regeneration and residential projects, bringing increased vitality to Preston’s city centre.
“We want to be on site as soon as possible and we look forward to working with all our partners to make this first high quality project a big success.”
Most of the apartments will have west-facing roof terraces. Behind the warehouse are the offices of the newly restored Winckley Square, which has been transformed with a £1.2m Heritage Lottery Fund facelift.
The warehouse will be homebuyers in Preston’s first opportunity to secure a true loft-style living experience in the heart of the Winckley Square Conservation Area.
The basement will provide secure car-parking for the majority of residents allocated on a ‘first-come-first-sold’ basis to the apartment buyers.
Thornton added: “The 120-year-old warehouse will be sympathetically restored retaining as many original features as possible for both residents and the community to enjoy.
“We are fortunate the building’s first use as a carriage manufactory was later taken over by the United Yeast Company and used for storage, which helped preserve these features for decades.”
Etc Urban’s architects, designers and sales and marketing experts have worked on regeneration projects across the UK, including the Northern Quarter and Ancoats in Manchester, Liverpool waterfront, Southbank in London and residential-led regeneration schemes in Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and Cardiff.
It has also been involved in projects in London, New York, Tokyo and Berlin.
