It is a project that has attracted its share of opposition. But developers behind proposals to create a mixed-use development on the site of the declining Shawlands Arcade on the south side of Glasgow took a major stride forward today.
Clydebuilt Limited Partnership, a property investment and development fund co-owned by Strathclyde Pension Fund and Ediston Real Estate, announced that it had received planning permission from the local council to forge ahead with phase one of the project. That will involve the building of 329 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, alongside new retail units and an enhanced public realm, which developers say should be completed by late 2026.
While some local residents have expressed disquiet over the proposals since they were first announced in 2021, with reports highlighting concern over its height and its aesthetics relative to the neighbourhood, developers say they consulted the local community extensively and sought to address their observations as the plans were finalised.
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Now that those plans are poised to move from the drawing board into reality – demolition and construction work for phase one is expected to start in the middle of next year – local residents can look forward to ridding Shawlands of a dated commercial building, the best days of which are long in the past.
Moreover, the developers note, the project will deliver much-needed homes to an increasingly popular urban neighbourhood that has become one of the most sought-after places to live in Glasgow, particularly for the younger demographic.
It is interesting to observe, too, that the new homes are being built for rent, following well publicised concern that this housing development model was under threat by Scottish Government rent control measures.
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Proponents of BTR developments highlight the success of the model in cities such as Manchester and its potential for addressing the shortage of housing in major Scottish cities. However, in recent months they have argued that the investors who are needed to fund such developments are being turned off because of the rent cap currently in force in Scotland, which is designed to help people through the cost of living crisis.
BTR developers say the cap will limit the return investors can expect to achieve.
However, with Clydebuilt Limited Partnership proceeding with its plans for Shawlands, perhaps such fears have been misplaced.
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