PROPERTY investor Palace Capital is to press ahead with plans to convert a York office block into 139 apartments after securing planning consent.
Hudson House, close to York railway station, was a 103,000 sq ft office block when Palace acquired it as part of a 24-strong property portfolio for £39.25m in 2013.
It has received consent for the change of use under the UK Permitted Development legislation. Although the City of York Council’s decision notice says the building must be being used for residential purposes by May 30 this year, Palace Capital is certain it has three years to complete the change of use.
Palace Capital remains in talks with the Council about a planning application for an alternative conversion of Hudson House, which would split the building into 37,000 sq ft of offices and 82 apartments.
Neil Sinclair, chief executive of Palace Capital, said: “We are currently evaluating our options in the light of this approval and the imminent secondary legislation as to how we create further value from this important asset and will keep shareholders updated on the progress that we make.
“When we acquired the property in 2013, we identified Hudson House as a key asset from which we were confident that we could create significant value for our shareholders.”
Palace is buoyed by its belief that York, which it describes as “one of the fastest growing cities in the UK”, has a “particularly strong” residential market.
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