Contractor appointed to £47m Cocoa Works scheme
Henry Boot Construction, has been selected as the contractor to convert York’s historic Rowntree Factory into 279 apartments.
Securing the £47m scheme means the company’s order book for 2022 is now 100% secured.
Tony Shaw, managing director of Henry Boot Construction, said: “We are thrilled to add this development to our growing portfolio of major urban development schemes. City centres are changing rapidly, and we understand the important role that quality residential has to play in their regeneration.”
The Cocoa Works, which is a mile north of York Minster, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. It is being delivered by Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group.
It will have seven studios, 111 one-bedroom apartments, 146 two-bedroom apartments and 15 three-bedroom apartments, of which 84 will be available for shared ownership.
The listed Joseph Rowntree Memorial Library at the front of the site is to be refurbished and used as a concierge base and residents’ lounge.
The factory was built by Joseph Rowntree in the early 1890s and is renowned for being the former home of Rowntree’s Almond and Cream buildings.
A century ago, more than 6,000 people worked in the building, known as York’s Garden Factory, where open space and education facilities supported the wellbeing of factory workers and their families.
