Work on the largest single largest private investment deal in Sheffield City Centre has begun, with a JV called Legal & General and Urbo (West Bar) Limited kicking off the first phase of the development on site.
The JV involves Urbo Regeneration and Peveril Securities – part of the Bowmer + Kirkland Group, together with partners Sheffield City Council, and the project is a £300 million mixed-use scheme in Sheffield City Centre.
Legal & General has committed £160 million of forward funding to developers Urbo (West Bar) Ltd to deliver the first phase of development, the culmination of several years’ work in the assembly and ground preparation for comprehensive area-wide regeneration.
Sheffield West Bar is a cutting-edge mixed-use project which will deliver much needed new grade A office accommodation, housing, and green public spaces on the gateway site and has potential to create up to 8,000 new jobs. When complete in 2024, this first phase of West Bar will deliver:
- No. 1 West Bar Square – will consist of a new 100,000 sq ft Grade A office building with retail accommodation on the ground floor and roof terrace offering panoramic views. It will be an impressive and sustainable gateway building to the wider West Bar regeneration project.
- Soho Yard – a £78 million development consisting of 368 build to rent apartments owned and operated by Legal & General.
- Car Park – A 450-space multi-storey car park with around 300 cycle storage spaces and electric car charging points.
- West Bar Square – a major new business address and landscaped public space for Sheffield and focal point for the West Bar area
The scheme has been designed by award winning architects 5plus with planning advice from Asteer Planning. On completion of the whole 7-acre project, West Bar will provide up to 1 million sq ft of mixed-use accommodation, consisting of 500,000 sq ft of office space, residential, and car parking with supporting amenities. West Bar will also provide over an acre of public realm and green space, complimenting the Council’s hugely successful grey to green transformation. The creation of West Bar Square will provide a central hub for retail and leisure uses within West Bar and provide much needed services to occupiers and residents in the vicinity alongside a key link from the successful Kelham Island area to Sheffield city centre.
Bill Hughes, Head of LGIM Real Assets, said: “The need for investment in Real Assets in UK cities and towns has never been greater. Legal & General is committed to working with civic authorities and leaders to unlock city regeneration and secure the viability of socially and economically important UK schemes; Sheffield’s West Bar development is exemplary of such partnerships.”
