Addington secured planning permission for the site, which was previously a shopping mall, to create a mixed-use regeneration scheme. The plans include four new standalone blocks, which provide 447 residential units and around 40,000 sq. ft. of retail space, together with below podium car parking. Above the podium there are planned landscaped private amenity areas.
London based property company Strawberry Star Group’s volume house building division Strawberry Star Homes will build out the site which is expected to have a GDV of £244m.
Jeremy Bullock, Director at Tristan Capital Partners, said: “We saw the potential to transform this part of the town which had long needed investment by creating nearly 450 new residential homes in an attractive setting. Addington and Tristan have been early movers in the repurposing of underperforming shopping centre space and with the shortage of quality housing in the area, we believe this will provide benefits to all.”
Martin Roberts, Principal of Addington Capital, said: “We were offered a good price for the site and wish Strawberry Star well in progressing the redevelopment. We will continue to intensively asset manage the rest of the shopping centre in the meantime.”
Addington and EPISO bought the Harvey Shopping Centre as part of a broader portfolio in 2011 and have been refurbishing and improving it since then. The Centre has benefitted with the opening of the Terrace in 2016 anchored by the 25,000 sq.ft. Cineworld and a number of new leading restaurant brands.
Santhosh Gowda, Chairman, Strawberry Star Group, said: “The Harlow site is an important investment for Strawberry Star to realize our volume housing vision for Londoners, especially first-time buyers. This site is part of our long-term strategy to deliver 4,000 new homes by 2025. Massive regeneration in Harlow is also driving local demand for quality housing. We intend to provide homes at prices which are affordable to home buyers, who have been priced out of London.”
