Historic Preston warehouse to be given new lease of life
Work has started on a £3.5m project to create spacious loft apartments in the heart of Preston city centre.
The Union Lofts, a major regeneration project by Etc Urban Developments, will see a Victorian warehouse on Guildhall Street converted into 18 urban loft-style duplex apartments.
The warehouse dates back to the 1890s when it was built as the Union Carriage Works and was home to James Walmsley & Co, a Preston carriage and autocar manufacturer.
In 1925, the building was sold to the United Yeast Company, which serviced the brewing, baking and confectioner’s trades until the 1960s.
Various other warehousing uses were carried out until the 1990s and since then it has stood empty.
Designed by Chase Architecture, with construction work being carried out by Manchester-based Workspace Design & Build, the apartments will retain many of the original warehouse features.
Work is scheduled to complete in December 2018, with a show apartment due to be unveiled in October.
The new homes are being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield’s New Homes team in Manchester, whose head and associate director Julian Cotton said: “Cushman & Wakefield is delighted to be intrinsically involved in the sales and marketing of such a highly anticipated and much heralded project within the heart of Preston.
“The Union Lofts will unquestionably become a landmark residential opportunity, reflecting the recent transformation of the historic town centre and setting a benchmark for future development within what is fast becoming an increasingly desirable destination in which to live and work.
“Buyers at The Union Lofts will have the chance to invest in a city that is bucking the national trend, with year-on-year house price growth at 4.3% in 2017, compared to a fall of 3.1% nationally.”
He said: “When added to significant public sector investment into the local area and civic realm, The Union Lofts represents a really exciting opportunity.”
The development forms part of Preston’s City Living Strategy for the next decade, developed by Cushman & Wakefield, which aims to create similar, high quality residential schemes across the city centre, and has been supported by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) £20m Growing Places Investment Fund.
Etc Urban Developments is a property company specialising in original, high-quality city living projects.
Its director, Neil Thornton, said: “With the backing of the Growing Places Investment Fund we are creating a high quality, stylish residential scheme that will be a flagship development for Preston.
“The 120-year-old warehouse will be sympathetically restored retaining as many original features as possible for both residents and the community to enjoy.
“The apartments are specifically aimed at owner-occupiers who want to own their new home in the heart of Preston with all the city has to offer in location, amenities transport and leisure.”
LEP director, Jim Carter, said: “A key element of the Preston City Living Strategy is to see more schemes coming forward which convert historic buildings into quality residential accommodation.
“This process has already helped to transform the centres of other Northern cities, such as Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield, and has revitalised both the day and night-time economies of these places as a result.
“We are, therefore, delighted that through the LEP’s Growing Places Investment Fund we have been able to help kick-start the restoration of an important commercial building in Preston from the Victorian era and give it a new use.”
