Native Land has secured an £18.5 million (€22 million) funding arrangement with Grosvenor for St Mary’s Wharf, a 200,000 square feet (18,500 square meters) mixed-use development on brownfield land in the centre of Guildford.
The agreement marks the start of construction work on the residential-led town centre regeneration project.
St Mary’s Wharf is situated on a 1.7-acre (7,000 square meters) riverside site and was formerly a Debenhams department store. The site is located in a strategic position where the town’s High Street meets the River Wey and is a four minute walk from Guildford train station, with trains reaching central London in around 30 minutes. The scheme is seeking to be an exemplar of how sensitive brownfield redevelopment can catalyse wider town centre regeneration.
The development comprises 185 private and affordable homes, together with 21,000 square feet of restaurant and business spaces. It will create an acre of new public riverside walkways and gardens and will provide direct access to the River Wey from the High Street for the first time in more than 50 years.
The Squire & Partners designed buildings include the sustainable retention and reuse of the existing basement and, in response to Native Land’s brief, will be fossil-fuel-free and net zero carbon in operation.
The funding arrangement marks the latest in a line of collaborations between Native Land and Grosvenor and the first time both organisations have included an environmental performance incentive within the funding facility, encouraging both partners to ensure the scheme achieves high environmental credentials. Previous partnerships include NEO Bankside, Holland Park Villas, Cheyne Terrace, and 10 Montrose Place, all in central London.
Source: propertyeu.info on the 26th of March