Cityheart closes in on stalled £100m Stockport project
The developer is seeking an £8m GMCA grant to support the delivery of the 442-home Royal George Village, which was previously being developed by Investar.
Cityheart is leading the race to acquire the Stockport site and is seeking money from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s brownfield fund to support the scheme, according to a GMCA report.
Royal George Village was put up for sale last year when Investar collapsed and, while the sales process is ongoing, it is understood Cityheart is now close to securing one of Stockport’s largest residential opportunities.
The developer is no stranger to Stockport and is delivering the 196-apartment scheme at Stockport Interchange.
Royal George Village is located a short distance away from the Interchange and was previously part of the Stockport College campus.
Investar acquired the three-acre plot from the college in April 2020 before winning approval for its redevelopment later that year.
The approved plans would see four of the six existing buildings on the site demolished, while the 115,000 sq ft Torkington Building would be converted into 122 apartments and the grade-two listed Greek Street Building – the former Metropolitan Girls’ School – would be redeveloped into collaborative co-working space for local businesses.
The 60,000 sq ft Lyme Centre would be demolished and replaced with a 16-storey apartment block comprising 258 units.
In addition, a new-build six-storey ‘gateway’ building would be constructed, providing 62 apartments at the corner of Greek Street and Royal George Street.
Meanwhile, the Hexagon lecture hall, located close to the grade two-listed War Memorial Art Gallery, would be demolished and replaced with public realm and civic space.
In addition, the 16,000 sq ft University Centre building would be demolished to provide an internal, south-facing courtyard to create additional public open space and private gardens for residents.
Cityheart and Savills, which is leading the sales process, were contacted for comment.
Fingers crossed! A huge improvement. Especially opening up visibility of the attractive building to the left, which is currently obstructed by that peculiar little concrete annexe.
By Tom
As per their involvement in Wigan, I suspect this grant requirement will massively increase once they actually understand the scheme and try to fund it!
By Woolly
I hope they take down that awful dilapidated building – the vandalism is getting worse and worse. I feel like every time I go past this site the police are chasing yet another sets of vandals out.
By Eager Stopfordian
Great to see as the site has become an eyesore, 400 extra homes are much needed too.
By Pablo
Please can we have SHOPS, our town centre is a disgrace
By Anonymous
Yes Pablo, Stockport needs more homes🤣🤣
By Bob
I hope that this project doesn’t interfere with the original buildings of Stockport Grammar School
By Evie
What about the University Centre? Are there plans to build a new University Centre Building?
By Anonymous
Yes it needs modernising it’s ugly as it is now
By Anonymous
We need shops first and foremost
By Valerie Concar
Would be great if they looked to invest in Edgeley high street at the same time
By Kev
All the comments about the need to invest in shops, invest in Edgeley high street etc. There’s little point in investing in shops unless there are people there to use them. Building 400 new homes will bring more people into the area who will spend money locally and making shops etc more viable.
Comment on the original grammar school buildings – weren’t they on Chestergate? Long, long gone. The grammar school did then move to Greek Street but its buildings are long gone from there as well. They were more or less where the War Memorial Art Gallery and Hexagon Lecture Hall are now. The school moved to its current site at Christmas 1915. The memorial/gallery was opened in 1925. I suspect you’re probably getting mixed up with the former Municipal Secondary School for Girls building which was built adjacent to the grammar school in 1909-10 and later became part of the college campus. That building is still there and due to be retained as part of this scheme – see reference to the former Metropolitan Girls School in the article.
By Martin Cranmer