New virtual footage shows what Sheffield can expect with £300m West Bar development
New virtual footage shows what Sheffield can expect with £300m West Bar development
04/10/2023
Exclusive new visuals have been released to showcase how the £300 million West Bar development in Sheffield city centre will look when completed.
A virtual fly-through has captured the extent of considerable new business and residential accommodation as well as extensive public realm to be delivered for the local community. It also shows how the award-winning scheme effectively interacts with the surrounding built environment within the ‘heart’ of the West Bar business area which currently employs circa 5,000 people and has around 2,000 residents.
The fly-through demonstrates the scheme comprising up to 1 million sq ft of new space on a gateway site into Sheffield City Centre. It also highlights the proposed bustling retail and leisure spaces within West Bar Square which will be set within a high-quality public realm.
West Bar is already starting to dominate the skyline on the city’s northern gateway with construction of the first phase of three towers almost at their peak. No.1 West Bar Square will provide 100,000 sq ft of Grade A office space offering the largest floorplates in the city with significant ESG credentials. A further two buildings are on track to deliver Soho Yard – a 368 unit build to rent scheme which will be owned and managed by scheme funder Legal & General.
West Bar Sheffield is being delivered by Urbo (West Bar) Ltd, a joint venture between Urbo Regeneration and Peveril Securities, in collaboration Sheffield City Council. After twenty years in planning, the much-anticipated mixed-use scheme is being brought forward following a ground-breaking deal to secure £150 million funding from Legal & General. This agreement represents the largest single city centre investment deal that Sheffield has ever seen.
West Bar as a whole is a £300 million regeneration scheme on a 7-acre brownfield site on the Inner Ring Road between Sheffield’s Kelham Island, Cathedral and Castlegate neighbourhoods. It is to comprise one million sq ft of mixed-use space including over 500,000 sq ft of office accommodation with amenities, public realm and hundreds of apartments and the project expects to create up to 8,000 new jobs when completed.
Peter Swallow at Urbo (West Bar) Ltd, said,
“We were delighted to reveal this fantastic new footage at the recent Sheffield Property Association gathering where we were joined by our delivery partners including Sheffield City Council, principal contractor Bowmer + Kirkland, 5plus Architects and Asteer Planning.”
“West Bar is a leading example of what can be achieved through effective public and private sector collaboration. To achieve what we have, with the difficult economic headwinds, to make the scheme commercially viable and deliverable was especially challenging. It has involved many years of site assembly work, negotiating with landowners and tenants over 100 separate property titles within the development boundary. We worked hard to secure alternative and improved premises for these occupiers such that zero jobs were lost through the process. This was backed by a full compulsory purchase process including a full CPO Public Inquiry and ultimately secured 100% freehold ownership with vacant possession, paving the way for our deal with Legal & General. This is a rare and excellent example of best practice approach to area-wide urban regeneration.”
As the first building expected to be completed by June 2024 No.1 West Bar Square acts as an impressive and sustainable gateway to West Bar. Featuring a contemporary, curved, curtain glass façade, it provides eight storeys of highly efficient office floorplates up to 14,000 sq ft, a roof terrace offering panoramic views across the city and retail accommodation at ground floor. BNP Paribas Real Estate and Cushman & Wakefield have been appointed to market the space.
Also completing in Summer 2024, Soho Yard offers 368 residential apartments within two buildings situated around a landscaped space and gardens with access via Plum Lane. The properties will be delivered and operated by Legal & General as part of its highly successful ‘Build to Rent – Homes for Life’ portfolio. It sits on the site of the famous ‘Soho wheel’ that powered grinding machinery near the River Don after the Industrial Revolution.
Animation studio, Dematerial, led by Will Priest worked closely with Urbo and 5plus architects to produce the CGI film of this exciting new piece of Sheffield city centre.
