Sunderland city council has acquired the 26-acre former Vaux Brewery site on Wearside from Tesco, using money from the Homes and Communities Agency and One North East.
The final exchange of contracts was agreed last Thursday, ending a 10-year row over the future of the site, which was acquired by Tesco in 2001.
Long-term plans are to develop the former brewery site into more than 500,000 sq ft of offices to create a new business district with more city centre jobs.
Remediation work will initially include clearing the site of debris and old building foundations, and the consideration of temporary uses before major development work starts.
Sunderland council leader Paul Watson said: “Now that the city owns the Vaux site we can look forward to its redevelopment as a business-hub.
“While construction will not happen overnight and could be some time away, this is a significant step forward. The first thing for us is to get on-site and begin its remediation.”
Last year Tesco was granted planning permission for a new store in nearby Roker at the Sunderland Retail Park.
Tesco corporate affairs manager Doug Wilson said: “Tesco remains committed to making further major investment into the city and this announcement means we can now move forward with our plans for a new store at the Sunderland Retail Park.”
nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
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