Get Living has agreed a £136m forward funding deal with Watkin Jones for a 551-home build-to-rent tower in Birmingham, marking its first acquisition in the city.
The Makers’ Yard project (pictured), on a 2.5-acre site at Sherlock Street, is Watkin Jones’s biggest BTR development.
The scheme will provide one, two and three-bed apartments, 47 (8.5%) of which will be affordable. It will also offer lounges, a gym and co-working space with double-height reception areas and a landscaped podium.
Get Living will manage and operate Makers’ Yard on behalf of its investors, with the final phase of the scheme expected to complete in 2025.
A new pedestrianised public square will connect the city centre with the wider Rea Valley Urban Quarter, as well as enable access to some 16,500 sq ft of ground floor commercial space at the scheme.
Alex Pease, chief investment officer at Watkin Jones, said: “Institutional investment like this makes a real difference for places with a significant shortage of rental homes. We have a strong record in Birmingham and are actively looking at new opportunities across the Midlands.”
Rick de Blaby, chief executive of Get Living, said: “Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city has always been on Get Living’s wish list and so we are very excited to have secured this key city centre location with Watkin Jones for what will be Get Living’s eighth large-scale neighbourhood.”
The scheme takes Get Living’s development pipeline to circa 6,500 homes, forming part of its wider strategy to grow its portfolio to 15,000 homes within the next five years.
De Blaby added: “It is our responsibility, as long-term owners and custodians, to ensure we provide a sustainable neighbourhood for people in Birmingham, not just to call home and put down roots, but also to set the stage for a community to thrive.”
Colliers and law firm BCLP advised Get Living; law firm Addleshaw Goddard acted for Watkin Jones.
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Photo: Glenn Howells Architects/ Watkin Jones
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