Real estate investor provides £18.3m facility for York development site

A UK real estate lender and investor has announced that it will be providing a £18.3m facility to support a “major” development in York.

Octopus Real Estate has agreed to provide Heworth Green Developments with a £18.3m facility secured against the site in the heart of York.

The 8.95-acre former National Grid site, off Heworth Green has planning consent for 607 homes and retail or community use floorspace.

The facility will be used to refinance current debt, acquire the remaining part of the site, finance the ground works and removal of a decommissioned gas holder.

Work will start on the development later this month with the remediation and infrastructure works, allowing the construction of the new homes on the site to follow this.

Ludo Mackenzie, head of commercial property at Octopus Real Estate said: “The Heworth site is one of the largest residential development opportunities in York. It has taken many years to get to a position where work can commence and we are proud to be involved.”

The site is part of a brownfield development close to amenities, just north of York’s city-centre, a short walk from York Minster and a 25-minute walk from York train station.

A large part of the site will be for Build to Rent homes with the remaining 215 homes being developed by North Star for the open market.

A spokesperson for North Star added: “Securing this funding deal is another major milestone in the project.

“The journey to transform this large, brownfield site into a vibrant new community has taken over 18 months so far and we are very excited to see it now coming to fruition.

“This will now enable us to start construction works on the site and the first step will be to remediate the site which will start very shortly.

“Our aim is to create a high-quality sustainable development that York can be proud of and we are committed to delivering the development, even in these challenging times.”

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