Liverpool developer Caro Developments appoints Newry Construction to deliver 48 apartments in a £6m scheme. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool developer Caro Developments is pushing on with the delivery of a £6m residential and commercial scheme in Wigan as it appoints a contractor.
Caro acquired the former five-storey Bryan House office building in the town centre from Hurstwood Holdings in July. It will lease the first floor to Hurstwood for a self-storage venture which is due to open in December.
Three retail and leisure businesses already occupy units on the ground floor. Now Caro has appointed Newry Construction to deliver 48 apartments on the top three floors. The development is being called Vantage Point Apartments.
Architects at Liverpool-based Falconer Chester Hall are designing the project. All 48 units will be one-bed homes of between 400 and 500 sq ft. Caro managing director Neil Carlyle said: “There’s a lot of investment coming into Wigan and this is our second development in the town centre.
“The regeneration of The Galleries by Beijing Construction is now well under way and there is genuine confidence in the town’s prospects. The time felt right to bring a sophisticated, design-led residential offer to the market.”
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Construction is expected to take nine months to complete. Development funding has been provided by Together, with Zerum having acted as planning consultants. ADS (engineers), PSD (building services) and Orion (fire safety) are among the other consultants advising on the scheme.
Ritchie Watson, corporate lending director at Together, added: “We are excited to be building on our long-standing relationship with Caro. This is a fantastic scheme, which involves a local developer breathing new life into an underused mixed-use building.
“Once completed, the scheme will create contemporary and much-needed accommodation in Wigan’s thriving town centre.”
Another Liverpool-based business, RW Invest, which specialises in selling apartments to investors, is also involved in the scheme. Managing director Michael Gledhill, said: “Wigan is an exciting area for investors, with multiple regeneration prospects and good transport links.”