A deal has been completed to sell three substantial freehold premises on Green Lane in Derby city centre.
St James Securities, the company behind the £200m regeneration of the Becketwell area of the city, has disposed of the properties to the Berry Group, a successful Derby-based property company.
The properties form part of legacy ownership originally controlled by Debenhams when they traded from the former department store, with the site now home to The Condor, Grainger plc’s new 259 BTR apartment scheme, which is set to launch next month.
As part of the on-going regeneration project at Becketwell, tracks of land behind The Condor needed to be reconfigured resulting in the disposal of numbers 22-24, 36 and 46-48 Green Lane.
The three properties will be transformed into a mixed-use development, incorporating ground floor commercial units to the frontage which will provide a much-needed uplift to the existing street scene.
In addition to this, there will be new residential use throughout the remaining parts of the properties, helping aid Derby City Council's goal of providing additional, affordable city centre living.
Derby’s £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme is the most significant urban regeneration scheme in the city for more than three decades.
The Becketwell scheme will create a vibrant, exciting, new quarter of residential, commercial leisure activity in the heart of Derby city centre.
Phase one is the delivery of The Condor, the city’s first ever purpose-built, Build to Rent scheme, which will be owned and operated by Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed provider of private rental homes, along with the creation of a new multi-purpose public square.
Phase two of the scheme includes a major £45.8m 3,500-capacity performance venue, which will be operated by ASM Global, the world’s leading venue management and services company, and producer of live experiences.
Future planned phases of the scheme include the potential for a range of other complementary uses of the site including a hotel, further residential accommodation, a multi-storey car park and purpose-built student residential.
Paul Morris, development director at St James Securities said:
“We are pleased to have concluded the sale of these three very interesting buildings.
“The Berry Group have the required experience and skill set to reactivate these long vacant properties to provide a mixture of commercial and residential space as part of the on-going re-energisation of Derby city centre.”
Alex Cockayne, commercial director of the Berry Group added:
"We are delighted to have purchased these three properties from St James Securities and thank both Rigby & Co and St James Securities for their dealings and co-operation throughout the conveyancing period.
“We are now thrilled to focus our attention on bringing these derelict buildings, which have been empty for over 15 years, back to life. These buildings will play a part within the Becketwell regeneration scheme and provide Derby city centre with some much-needed high end accommodation and fresh commercial space.”
The transaction of the units was brokered by Russell Rigby of Derby-based commercial property consultants Rigby & Co, who said:
“We are really pleased to have delivered a successful outcome for SJS and given the rise in confidence levels on streets bordering Becketwell, we believe we have an excellent match-up between an emerging location and The Berry Group, who have already demonstrated that they are skilled at getting to grips with mixed use assets such as these three buildings.
St James Securities have completed many successful projects of this scale, including St Paul’s Place in Sheffield and the award-winning Round Foundry in Leeds.