Blueoak starts on Chester’s £38m office-to-resi conversion
The developer has begun work on the transformation of both Charterhall House and Tower House into a high-end 176-apartment complex overlooking the Shropshire Union Canal.
LEEF Property Group has been appointed to market and rent the fully furnished scheme when the first residents move in in early 2026.
Blueoak Estates will self-deliver the £38m job of converting the 105,000 sq ft space into one- and two-bedroom flats itself and expects to be complete by Q1 2027.
The two 1970s commercial office buildings, known as the ‘Lloyds Buildings’, rise seven and four storeys out of a four-acre plot at the Chester City Gateway Quarter.
Charterhall House, the larger of the two, has a floorspace of 60,000 sq ft, while Tower House offers 45,000 sq ft.
The scheme off Charterhall Drive is expected to offer luxury apartments with residents able to benefit from amenities, including a gym, co-working space, and cinema room. Car parking for up to 122 vehicles will also be provided.
Blueoak is calling the scheme, which has been designed by PAD Architects, Chester’s first-ever build-to-rent development.
Plans were submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council in October 2024, and approval came in March 2025.
Lets face it, these will never be high-end apartments, and will be a very much compromised cheap office to resi conversion on a site that could be so much more.
By GetItBuilt!
@GetItBult – based on the volume of single-bed ‘apartments’ promised, it seems squarely aimed at the housing benefit market; get the buy-to-let types in, they lease them to the council for great profits. Better long-term capital appreciation prospects than abusing some Victorian terrace into an HMO, too. If that’s not the case, I’ll be both amazed and very, very happy.
By John Smith