Capital & Centric has set its sights on expanding its pipeline in Stoke-on-Trent, as part of a drive to step up activity in smaller regional cities.
The social developer is engaging with Stoke-on-Trent City Council regarding sites it owns that could offer scope for residential-led regeneration.
The council has earmarked several sites for redevelopment, including the Queen’s Theatre in Burslem and Hanley Town Hall. It identified more than £620m of potential investment and development opportunities in the city earlier this year and has already secured £56m in levelling-up funding from the government.
Among these are a £179m GDV mixed-use project at Etruscan Square, which is the city centre’s largest regeneration project. It includes a 3,600-capacity arena, 285 new homes, 82,000 sq ft of commercial space and a 138-bedroom hotel.
The council is looking at tenders for pre-construction and services contracts for the first phase of the Etruscan Square project.
Elsewhere, a 116-home scheme at the former Spode Works Factory, which is being delivered by Nimrod Holdings and ABH Developers, is being marketed as a procurement opportunity. The council aims to largely retain the existing building, with partial demolition and new-build development, to create workspaces for occupiers from the arts and creative sectors.
Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital & Centric, told EG: “These sites need more than just a change into flats. Stoke-on-Trent needs more events and activities space, and other things to go on inside those buildings.”
The news comes as Capital & Centric begins work on one of its flagship projects in the city, known as the Goods Yard, which is expected to become a new urban quarter.
The first phase of the £60m regeneration project will provide 174 new homes for rent as well as workspaces, bars, cafés, shops and green public outdoor space.
Capital & Centric has also launched a review of the second phase of the scheme. Initial plans included a boutique hotel, however, Heatley has since said the proposed property does not necessarily have to be one, highlighting the scope for either “more workspace”, “more homes” or “a hybrid between those two and a hotel”.
“Sometimes you have to step away and see what people want and which developments on site have had a greater success than the others,” said Heatley. “As soon as we are done with phase one, we will go back and see if we need to make some changes to phase two to respond to the market demand.”
Talks to expand in Stoke-on-Trent come as the developer switches its focus towards opportunities away from the UK’s big six cities. “London, Manchester, Leeds – they don’t need Capital & Centric,” said Heatley. “We have presence in those cities, but it is not imperative to them.
“Cities like Stoke-on-Trent and those equivalent to it have a great prospect for future investment, and I think we can unlock that potential, tap into it, get those cities growing strong.”
Separately, Capital & Centric has set out plans to open more offices across the country, as part of a drive to expand its footprint across the regions. A new hub is expected to open shortly in the Midlands, after it acquired a site in Manchester’s Piccadilly East last month for its new HQ.
“We spend all our time doing it [repurposing buildings] for other cities and other people. Now it’s time to find buildings for ourselves,” Heatley said.
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