Hammerson has begun the search for a residential partner on a project that could deliver 1,000 new homes within one of Leeds’ largest development opportunities.
The REIT has appointed JLL to run the process to find a partner for its long-awaited Eastgate Quarter development.
The first stage of development will be located on a 2.5-acre slice of a 10-acre, Hammerson-owned plot of land. A masterplan is being worked up with ShedKM and Max Architects, with the resi-led site divided into zones for individual construction, and both for-sale and rental homes being considered.
Hammerson said earlier this year that it is seeking capital-light initiatives to unlock value and generate optionality for developments, including working with partners with “sectoral expertise or aligned capital”.
A planning brief filed with Leeds City Council last year, drawn up with ACME as the master planner, indicated the site has the potential to deliver nearly 2m sq ft of space. This included homes, around 506,000 sq ft of office space and nearly 200,000 sq ft of retail and leisure uses in addition to student housing, a hotel, educational facility and public realm.
Previous proposals were known as “Victoria Gate Phase 2” and comprised a major retail-led scheme, before plans were reworked with a stronger focus on residential. The masterplan has been the subject of pre-application discussions between the developer, architects and local authority officers since April 2019.
Hammerson sold the nearby Victoria Gate and Victoria Quarter shopping centres earlier this year to Redical for £120m, while retaining the Eastgate plot for development.
The Eastgate scheme sits within the REIT’s mid-term land promotion pipeline. Although the owner is not expected to reach a shovel-ready point until 2023, it identified potential GDV of more than £2.5bn in its near-term projects, which include Dublin Central and The Goodsyard, E1. It plans to spend around £73m by the end of next year on those developments to generate a circa £110m uplift in value.
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