Wirral and Cheshire developer Blueoak Estates unveils plans to convert former office building into £10m residential scheme. Tony McDonough reports
Luxury Homes developer Blueoak Estates is set to convert 1970s office building into a £10m residential complex.
Blueoak, which has delivered a number of schemes in Wirral and Cheshire, has acquired Centurion House on Northgate Street in Chester. It was home to Sanctuary Housing until January 2022.
Located within the city’s famous city walls, the former office complex has been utilised by various businesses and organisations through the years, but has remained partially unoccupied for more than 12 months.
Blueoak is currently developing plans that will see the structure of the building retained whilst the interior will be reconfigured to create 28 apartments, each with parking and a private residence garden, along with a commercial outlet on the ground floor.
Iain MacLean, managing director of Blueoak Estates, said: “We’re incredibly excited about our latest acquisition.
“The sheer size of the building, the potential it presents in terms of redevelopment, and its excellent location, make this a fantastic opportunity to create something quite special.
“Converting commercial buildings into residential homes is an area in which we have significant experience and expertise and we’ll be applying this background and knowledge here.
“By taking the existing structure and reinventing the building, we are significantly minimising environmental impact.
Work is under way on the project and the show house is expected to be ready for viewing in spring this year.
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In December Blueoak said it is aiming to grow its business by 30% in 2024 after enjoying similar levels of growth in 2023.In October the firm started work on a £14m development that will see 32 apartments built on the site of the former West Kirby fire station.
In September, the business posted its annual accounts on Companies House for the year to December 31, 2022. They revealed a surge in annual revenues to £28.3m from £21.9m in 2021 and a rise in pre-tax profits from £953,000 in 2021 to more than £1.3m in 2022.