Member Article

New homes sell out at Ilkeston Co-op conversion

A multi-million pound residential development at the home of the former Co-op department store in Ilkeston has sold out just weeks after being released to the market.

Joint venture partners, Prosperity Developments and ALB said that its Southside development on the junctions of South Street, Wharncliffe Road and Market Place, had attracted a high-level of interest by owner-occupiers and buy-to-let investors.

All 69 one- and two-bedroom apartments were acquired off-plan, with tenants already secured for all rental units.

The three-storey former Co-op building was acquired by property investment company, ALB, in 2015 and converted into residential space under the government’s PDR scheme after Erewash Borough Council gave the go-ahead to turn the upper floors of the building into new homes. Work was carried out by contractor, HBW Construction.

Joe Billingham, chairman and CEO at Prosperity Developments, said: “We are really pleased to have sold all available units and to hear that our investors secured tenants so quickly. Southside was a highly sought after development in the heart of Ilkeston town centre, with all of the apartments purchased entirely off-plan. It’s pleasing to note that this demand has followed through into the rentals, reflecting the demand for housing in the area.

“Southside is one of several high-quality, successful schemes we have delivered in partnership with ALB. We have carefully developed a reputation for bringing profitable pre-built and off-plan property investments to market for more than ten years, with an emphasis on key locations where yield and rental demand is high. We don’t just focus on building apartments, we strive to breathe new life into empty spaces and create new communities in the process.”

In 2013, the Midlands Co-operative Society announced its intention to shut nine of its department stores, including in Ilkeston and Derby, citing substantial losses as a result of the growth in online shopping.

Due to the unique layout of the building, the bedrooms at the Southside apartments cannot have windows. The developers solved the problem with a clever use of solar tunnels - mirror-lined shafts, used in buildings all over the UK, which can flood natural light into a room. Works also included external alterations to the building, extensions to the roof and the replacement of existing windows.

All 69 apartments at the Southside development were sold or let by Midlands-based estate agency, Lamont & Co Estates.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Hicks .