Historic Rainford Hall to become rehab
Steps Together Group has signed a 20-year lease for the St Helens property, which was built by the Pilkington family in 1885 and has been offices since the 1980s.
Steps Together is a private residential and outpatient health, wellbeing and addiction service. The group aims to transform the country estate into a luxury residential retreat with 19 guest rooms, gymnasium, spa, two beauty rooms, therapy programmes and wellbeing services for those suffering with stress, depression, addiction and anxiety.
Approval for the plans for the refurbishment and additional spaces were approved in August. When work is complete, the hall will be 23,700 sq ft.
Principal contractor A P Mitchell, construction company TJM Projects and interior designer James Roberts Interior of Chester will team up to deliver the scheme, which will aim to safeguard the Victorian features of the mansion while still upgrading and modernising the space.
“Rainford Hall is the perfect environment for our work, and we are delighted to be working alongside our local contractors to sympathetically convert the hall for our business needs,” said Steps Together deputy chief executive Steve Jones.
Steps Together chief executive Darren Rolfe said the new facility is due to “an unprecedented demand for our range of treatment services from countless families across the North West of England.
“I am delighted that we have been welcomed by the Pilkington family and been able to secure such a fantastic property in the area, which will allow us to respond to the needs of many families, businesses, and individuals living under the destructive shadow of addiction in 2022,” Rolfe continued.
SAS Daniels LLP advised the Rainford Hall Estate on both the disposal and redevelopment of the hall.
SAS commercial property partner James Goddard said the firm had advised the estate for six years.
“The new agreement is a major development, guaranteeing the future of the hall alongside the wider estate,” Goddard said. “In the past, the building has always been let as office space on short term lease agreements, but the securing of this 20-year lease to one tenant demonstrates long term commitment to this important building.”
Fisher German advised on the letting. The property consultancy is also the managing agent for the estate.
“We have been managing agents for Rainford Hall Estate since 2008 and this is an excellent opportunity to secure the future of the hall,” said Fisher German partner Richard Baker.
“It’s clear that the commercial office market has moved away from this kind of building so there needed to be a new approach, and our commercial team was able to look beyond the traditional tenant and provide a solution which met the long-term objectives of both the estate and Steps Together.”
Steps Together aims to open the rehab in early 2022.
