Prime Chester development opportunity marketed with bids starting at £2.5m
A Chester property is being brought to market, for offers in excess of £2.5m, in what is described as a ‘prime development opportunity’.
The operational real estate team at CBRE in Manchester has been instructed to market 77 Northgate Street, in the heart of the city centre.
CBRE said the rare freehold 27,500 sq ft office building has conversion and development potential which would suit hotel, residential, retirement and healthcare schemes in an area undergoing significant regeneration.
The £2.5m starting price equates to a low underlying capital value of £90.74 per sq ft.
The extensive semi/part linked detached five-storey modern office building was a former open plan multi-level call centre with 33 on site car parking spaces.
It offers a range of feasible alternative uses, subject to consents, from a 73-bed boutique hotel with food and beverage to ground floor and a roof terrace, to a 96-bed budget hotel or a supported housing/care development with 22-26 units combining accommodation and intermediate rent apartments with a ground floor commercial unit.
It also has development potential for 26 residential apartments with ground floor commercial unit and roof terrace.
The building is not listed, but does border 73 Northgate which is a Grade II-listed property and is located within Cheshire West and Cheshire Council’s Centre conversion area and situated by the ancient City Walls monument.
It is located in a prime location fronting Northgate Street in one of the country’s strongest retailing centres which serves the city, as well as being a principal commercial and retail centre for Cheshire.
Significant development proposals are ongoing for Northgate Street for a new retail and leisure development, market hall, cinema, public square and a multi-storey car park.
Shaun Skidmore, senior director, CBRE’s OPRE team, said the site offers a range of exciting alternative uses for potential investors including hotel, residential, healthcare and retirement: “Chester has a contemporary edge with a modern infrastructure, as well as a vibrant economy, an innovative enterprise community and is underdoing significant revival.
“It also benefits from easy connectivity with excellent rail and airport links and first class retail, restaurants, cafes and bars. A popular tourist centre, Chester attracts some eight million visitors per year and also offers exceptional education and training facilities including University of Chester, West Chester College and the Chester College of Law.”
