Property round-up: New life planned for old mill; Stockport seeks development partner and more…
SALFORD-based developer Fresh Start Living has unveiled plans to convert a second historic building in Old Trafford into apartments.
The company is embarking on a £10m scheme to convert the Empress Mill building into a mixed-use development that will contain 100 apartments spread across two blocks – a converted five-storey scheme and a six-storey new build development.
The converted mill will house 33 three-bed duplex apartments and five two-bed penthouses. There will also be 3,600 sq ft of commercial office space on the ground floor.
The new build element will contain 26 one-bed, 35 two-bed and one three-bed apartment, as well as 1,200 sq ft of commercial space and 100 car parking spaces. Work is likely to start on site in autumn and will be completed within 18 months.
Salford-based FreshStart, which specialises in refurbishing empty or under-performing properties, acquired Empress Mill after its recent acquisition of the adjacent Trafford Press building on Chester Road.
The company is building 116 apartments at the Trafford Press site – 80 of which have already been reserved by investors. The £9m scheme is due to start on site in June.
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STOCKPORT Council has started its search for a development partner for its mixed-use Grand Central scheme.
It said a “competitive dialogue” process to select a partner was due to start this week and should be completed by the end of the year.
The council hopes to see high-spec offices, car parking and a new hotel on what it considers to be a key location linking the town’s busy mainline train station with the A6 thoroughfare.
The development of the 10-acre site is expected to attract investment of £100m and create 700 jobs.
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MUTUAL insurer Royal London has appointed WHR Property Consultants as joint agent to market its 194,606 sq ft warehouse facility in Cheadle.
The warehouse, which has been renamed Pegasus as part of a new marketing initiative, is close to the M60 and available on a leasehold or freehold basis from £2.50 per sq ft and £20 per sq ft respectively.
WHR was also the retained letting agent on Royal London’s nearby 250,000 sq ft Orion Park where it recently let the remaining 34,390 sq ft unit to existing tenant, Landis & Gyr.
Partner Mike Rooney said: “We had proven to our client that we had the local knowledge and understanding to secure deals and it was due to our success at Orion Park that we were brought on as agents on Pegasus.”
CBRE and GVA Grimley are the joint agents.
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LIVERPOOL’S Downing Group has completed work on 100,000 sq ft of office and teaching space for Newcastle University Business School.
Downing Plaza, a £100m redevelopment of Scottish and Newcastle brewery site, also promises student accommodation, retail space and a hotel.
Downing said it has nearly finished of phase two of the scheme – a 520-bedroom student village and 8,000 sq ft of retail space. Phase three, a further 351 rooms, will start soon. Planning permission has been granted for a 285-bedroom hotel.
Development director Paul Houghton said: “The demand for first-rate student accommodation has never been higher as universities are working hard to compete on a global level to attract the best students.
“Our focus has always been on building innovative, quality developments that will appeal to students, universities and occupiers alike, and Downing Plaza certainly achieves this.”
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MAGHULL Developments has instructed Knight Frank and Mason Owen to jointly market Switch House, a Grade A office scheme at Switch Island in North Liverpool, Merseyside.
The scheme is situated at the end of the M57 and M58 Motorways, eight miles north of Liverpool.
The two-storey office scheme has space available ranging from 1,000 sq ft to 6,794 sq ft and is home to occupiers including Maghull Developments, Merseycare NHS Trust, Mee’s Developments and Saving Faces.
