A huge development near Temple Meads has taken a step forward.
Real estate investment manager Barings has acquired the city’s old Soapworks factory. The investment has a gross development value of £215 million, with the scheme being delivered in partnership with developer Socius, which secured planning permission for the site.
Located minutes away from Temple Meads station, the mixed-use development will be set within a new public square and will comprise of two new buildings alongside the restoration of a Grade II listed former soap factory that dates back to the 1860s.
Read more: Huge plans for Bristol's historic former Soapworks building are revised
The scheme has planning consent for 154,000 sq ft of flexible office accommodation, as well as 243 build-to-rent (BTR) apartments, 20% of which will be for affordable tenures, and 18,800 sq ft of ground floor retail, hospitality and leisure space. The workspace will be divided into 18,000 sq ft in the existing Grade II-listed building and 136,000 sq ft in a new building.
The initial design for the Soapworks attracted a barrage of objections. A revised planning statement said the coronavirus pandemic had "prompted a review of the development proposals".
Barings has said that the proposed development is expected to deliver up to £200m of social value, an additional 513 new net additional full-time equivalent jobs within the Bristol economy, and £35m per year of gross value added (GVA).
Darren Hutchinson, managing director and Head of UK Real Estate Transactions at Barings, said: "Already a landmark in Bristol, Soapworks will be an iconic place to live and work in the city, with new and much-needed homes, Grade A office space, and a revamped public realm and vibrant groundfloor retail and hospitality.
"Working alongside Socius, we're working to retain as much of the original buildings as possible, and thus the embodied carbon, so that we can create a first-class destination with as little environmental impact as possible. Due to the quality of this space, it will not only be a landmark within Bristol but be an example of excellent place-making across the UK."
Ben Pile, head of European residential investing and asset management at Barings said the Soapworks was "well positioned" to become one of Bristol's "most desirable" districts.
