Plymouth’s “ghost” block of student flats will finally open for the 2022/23 academic year after being bought in an £11m deal.
The Crescent Point double towers, in Notte Street, were supposed to open in September 2018 but never got to welcome students due to long running legal battles.
But after being purchased by an unnamed buyer, in a deal completed in February 2022, the buildings will now open to students in September 2022 under the new name Saltwater Place.
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Rooms are being advertised by the company Prestige Student Living for between £99 and £160 per week - but with a £150 cashback offer.
Describing Saltwater Place as a “brand new, state of the art student accommodation” the lettings company is advertising “contemporary” studios and cluster apartments, for four to six occupants, “for you to relax and unwind in”.
It is telling prospective student tenants that “with just a short walk to your favourite restaurant and bar, or even to the local park, you’re in for a treat if you choose to stay here during university”.
The towers, two separate buildings of 12 and 15 floors, cost £20m to build and were constructed to house 348 students, but none have moved in so far, and no businesses have rented the ground-floor commercial space either.
A planning application to place Prestige Student Living and Saltwater Place signage on the buildings has been submitted to Plymouth City Council, with officers recommending conditional approval.
A separate application to turn some of the commercial space on the ground floor over for student accommodation has also been submitted.
Prestige Student Living is part of the Homes for Students company which also rents out space in nearby Plymouth Cross House, created out of the former Derrys department store.
Prestige Student Living boasts that all rooms in Saltwater Place have en-suite bathrooms and kitchen facilities “for you to cook up a storm”, extra storage spaces, a wardrobe and shelving units, and that rooms come with “your own study space, perfect for cracking on with any deadlines you have coming up”.
It said: “If you’re looking to lounge around with your friends, there’s an onsite common room, designed with students in mind. There’s even CCTV throughout the property, making sure you’re safe within the accommodation at all times.”
Contracts were exchanged on the huge building in February with the new owner, who was not named because a non-disclosure agreement, consenting to carry out repairs to defects which could run into millions of pounds.
The sale price left ICG Longbow, the lender which financed construction of the blocks and had the freehold, out of pocket by more than £20m. It has also been revealed there is no money to pay a further £8m owed to unsecured creditors.
Crescent Point was valued at £30m in December 2019, but that was based on the assumption it is fully occupied at the going market rent when sold as a going concern.
It left ICG in the unenviable position of having to either pay for expensive repairs or sell the building at a knockdown price.
It appears to have opted for the latter with the unnamed purchaser now having a licence to undertake remedial work at its own cost.
Crescent Point was never occupied due to a legal row when it emerged some of the rooms were built too small.
The company which owned the freehold, Plymouth (Notte Street) Ltd, part of the London-based Harouni Group, went into administration in November 2019.
The building had serious defects which required remedial work the costs of which “will potentially amount to several million pounds” and which only came to light when commercial property experts gave Crescent Point a thorough inspection before it could be marketed.
Meanwhile, a legal battle has been raging between Plymouth (Notte Street) Ltd, the company which managed the block Mears Ltd, and construction firm JR Pickstock Ltd, over the alleged defective works in respect of the property.
The case is being heard in the Technology and Construction Court, in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court and was stayed until March 1, 2022. A separate claim by Plymouth (Notte Street) Ltd against engineers Harixon was discontinued in March 2021.
Other legal cases have been decided too. In 2019, Mears Ltd v Costplan Services (South East) Ltd, Plymouth (Notte Street) Ltd, JR Pickstock Ltd was heard by the Court of Appeal. Mears took court action after it emerged 56 rooms were more than 3% smaller than they should have been, and the only way to put them right would have been to demolish the building and start again. But the court found against Mears and said that while there was a breach of contract, it was not deemed “material”.
Other legal cases, involving Plymouth (Notte Street) Ltd and the companies Costplan, a quantity surveyor, and civil engineers Ramboll, have been discontinued and settled, respectively.
