Elliot Lipton’s First Base has secured a deal to redevelop Brighton’s Anston House as a £100m mixed-use scheme designed by Sir Terence Conran.
The 200-home redevelopment of the 13-storey tower on Preston Road, once dubbed “the ugliest building in Sussex”, will be First Base’s first project outside London.
It will be funded through a joint venture with Hyde Housing Association.
First Base bought the site out of receivership after previous attempts at redevelopment failed. Urban Splash and Investec had envisaged a twin tower residential scheme for the site, but it was rejected by Brighton & Hove council in 2013.
First Base, the developer behind Haggertson’s Adelaide Wharf, E2, and the 7.7m sq ft Silvertown Quays project in London’s Royal Docks, E16, is looking to expand beyond London into areas that remain well connected with the capital.
It chose to make its regional debut in Brighton to cash in on the transformation of the area around Victoria station, SW1, into a desirable business and leisure destination at the end of the Brighton train line.
First Base director Barry Jessup said: “Once London’s Victoria becomes a proper business and leisure destination, we envisage Brighton being a popular commuter town.
“We have investors who understand our strategy here. The challenge is finding the right sites. We are looking for the second-best or best sites in each of these towns and cities.”
Conran & Partners will oversee the external and internal design of the scheme. Work on the 1.5-acre site is expected to complete in 2017.
