Next piece of £200m city redevelopment slots into place
The developer behind the regeneration plans for the Becketwell area of Derby city centre has sealed a deal to buy up another derelict property.
St James Securities has bought the former Boots building on Victoria Street in the city.
The deal follows the acquisition of the former Pennine Hotel, NCP Car Park and Laurie House on Colyear Street, which were contracted by St James Securities at the end of August as part of a deal with Derby City Council at which time an outline planning application was submitted.
The work on the demolition of the former Debenhams building is ongoing with construction work on the first phase of development set to start later this year.
The news follows an announcement just before Christmas that St James Securities had scaled back its plans for the residential element of the scheme.
The original plan was to create 342 Build to Rent apartments in two buildings, the tallest of which would extend up to 19 storeys in height and contain 246 apartments, with 96 apartments in a second, smaller building.
The larger building will now be reduced to approximately 224 apartments over a maximum of ground plus 10 storeys. The second smaller building fronting Green Lane and Victoria Street will be ground plus four storeys and will be developed separately.
The new multi-purpose public square on the site of the current United Reformed Church remains the centrepiece of the development and will continue to be delivered as part of phase one, says St James Securities.
Paul Morris, director of St James Securities, said: “We are committed to the development of the Becketwell area and are pleased to have this property under our ownership.
“Further acquisitions are set to be made in the coming weeks, which will enable us to move forward with phase one of the scheme, subject to a favourable planning decision next month.
“It is our aim to have all the land within the Becketwell scheme either directly in our ownership or under our control which, coupled with our comprehensive delivery programme, will enable us to deliver a scheme that will contribute to the social, economic and environmental fabric of the city centre going forward.”
