Octopus Real Estate has provided Heworth Green Developments, under the North Star banner, with a £18.3m facility for a major development site in York. The 8.95 acre former National Grid site has planning consent for 607 homes, retail and community use floorplace.
The facility will be used to refinance current debt, acquire the remaining part of the site and finance the groundworks and removal of a decommissioned gas holder. Work is due to begin on the development later this month with the remediation and infrastructure works, allowing the construction of the new homes on the site to follow this.
The major brownfield site is just north of York’s city centre, a short walk from York Minster and York train station. The scheme hopes to offer a “unique” opportunity in York for future residents.
The £18.3m facility is the next funding milestone in the £85m GDV development journey. Moda Living has exchanged contracts for the PRS element of the site which is the first PRS scheme in York.
Ludo Mackenzie, head of commercial property at Octopus Real Estate, said: “The Heworth site is the largest residential development opportunity in York. It has taken many years to get to a position where works can commence, and we are proud to be involved.”
A spokesperson for North Star added: “Securing this funding deal is another major milestone in the project. The journey to transform this large, brownfield site into a vibrant new community has taken over 18 months so far and we are very excited to see it now coming to fruition. This will now enable us to start construction works on the site, and the first step will be to remediate the site which will start very shortly. Our aim is to create a high-quality sustainable development that York can be proud of and we are committed to delivering the development, even in these challenging times.”
