Primesite to start £11m resi tower
Primesite Developments plans to kick-start construction work this month on a stalled apartment scheme in Liverpool's Herculanuem Dock to deliver 101 flats after buying the site from Ascot Property Group.
Ascot Property Group sold the site at Herculaneum Quay with consent for a 16-storey block to Primesite, based in West Pimbo, Skelmersdale, which is now considering extending the design by 10 floors. The architect is Liverpool-based KDP Architects. Talks with the council are ongoing.
Primesite will develop 101 one, two and three bedroom apartments above a coffee shop at ground floor. There will be an indoor swimming pool for residents and underground parking.
Stuart Duffy, partner at KDP Architects said: "This contemporary development has curves in all the right places. Two arcs have been fused together to create a stunning living environment. It has been cleverly designed to provide a terrace in every apartment maximising space and light. All residents can enjoy the spectacular moods of the River Mersey, the organic formation of the Wirral coastline, the majesty of the Welsh mountains and the surrounding urban landscape."
Apartment prices range from £100,000 to £175,000 with discounts available for cash buyers. There are now only two remaining apartments available. Joanne McCormack, sales director at Primesite, said 40% to 50% of buyers were owner-occupiers.
Ascot Property Group, based in Waterloo, Sefton is controlled by Liverpool businessman Terry Riley, a recent underbidder for Leeds United Football Club. Riley's company also acquired the Whitehouse pub that housed the large Banksy rat graffiti artwork commissioned for the 2004 Liverpool Biennial. The Banksy rat was put up for sale at auction in April 2014 having been painstakingly removed from the outside of the pub. However, it failed to sell and will be returned to Liverpool following restoration. Ascot specialises in developing residential in Southport, Formby, Crosby areas north of Liverpool.
The site, also known as Columbus Quay, was being developed by Preston-based Livesey Group prior to the recession. Livesey went into administration in late 2007, when work ceased. The plot is understood to have changed hands several times during the downturn.
