Elliot reveals designs for £250m apartment scheme

In the latest sign of Liverpool’s resurgent development market, Elliot Group has unveiled plans to build three 34-storey apartment blocks on land acquired from car dealers the Smith family on Leeds Street.

If delivered, the development designed by architects Falconer Chester Hall, will provide 1,015 units and become the largest single private housing project in the city.

Elliot Lawless, director of Elliot Group: “We wanted to create a statement of confidence for people entering the city. If our proposals are approved then they will go a long way to helping Leeds Street fulfil its potential as a dramatic gateway along the northern edge of the city centre.”

Leeds Street is the latest in an impressive line of developments in Liverpool and Manchester by the young developer, who turned 29 this month. Lawless started his career as an apprentice at HE Simm, the local family-owned mechanical and electrical engineer, before qualifying as an engineer and setting up his own M&E business in 2011, which he later exited. In 2013 he acquired his first development site, in Jamacia Street, Liverpool, now completed as the Artesian House development of 99 student flats. Lawless continued to acquire distressed assets from banks, fuelled by pre-sales to London and overseas investors. Earlier this year, he sold the £130m redevelopment of Heap’s Mill in Liverpool’s Baltic district to the Mercer-backed Inhabit PRS brand.

The latest proposals are now subject to review and discussion with Liverpool council’s planning and design officers, with a view to submitting a planning application in early September. The development will front Leeds Street at its junction with Pall Mall, currently considered the northern boundary of Liverpool’s business district. There will be 163 three-bedroom apartments, 457 two-bedroom units, 163 one-bedroom homes and 232 studios across the three towers, providing a generous mix of accommodation.

The land was purchased off-market from long-standing Liverpool investors the Smith family, best known for running the city’s Mercedes dealership, Road Range, for many years before its successful sale. Hill Dickinson solicitors acted for Elliot Group. Land Law advised the Smith family. Before the financial crash the Smith family sold the Mann Island site to the North West Development Agency for the Fourth Grace development, which was not delivered.