Get Living, the U.K. private private rented residential group backed by Qatari Diar, Delancey Oxford Residential, and APG, has received approval from the Glasgow City Council for a £200 million ($250 million) build-to-rent (BTR) scheme.
Delancey Oxford Residential is a joint venture between Delancey’s client fund DV4 and Oxford Properties, the real estate arm of Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System.
“We welcome the decision by Glasgow City Council to grant consent for our neighborhood and believe it will bring much needed, in-demand, high-quality homes for rent to the heart of the city,” said Rick de Blaby, executive chairman, Get Living. “With a wealth of commercial developments in the city center and on the waterfront of the river Clyde, it is an exciting time for Glasgow and it is fantastic to be able to say we are now a part of its ongoing revitalization. We have listened carefully to the views of local businesses and the people of Glasgow in forming these ambitious plans. Now, as long-term investors, we will build on those relationships even further in the years to come and look to become part of Glasgow’s Civic Family, delivering a new area of the city’s fabric with important historical significance.”
It will be Scotland’s largest BTR scheme to-date.
“This development will completely overhaul a key area of Glasgow, located right on the cusp of the city center in an ideal location. It is an impressive and extensive scheme in both its scale and ambition, creating hundreds of high-quality homes alongside competitively located commercial space,” said Stuart Patrick, chief executive, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. “Attracting people to live centrally is a key priority for our urban planners, driving sustained volumes of footfall for the retail and leisure sectors whilst also bringing skilled workers closer to their jobs and reducing travel demand. There is currently a reassuringly positive momentum for new developments springing up around Glasgow, such as the Barclay’s Buchanan Wharf announcement or the new headquarters for the Clydesdale Bank and these new homes are likely to prove attractive to many who will be employed in these developments.”
The investment partnership has plans to build 727 new build-to-rent homes on a 7.5-acre site behind High Street rail station. The scheme will feature a new public square, 99 student studios and approximately 3,365 square meters (tk square feet) of space for retail, leisure, food and drink, and commercial business.
The proposals include a high-quality public realm for residents of the new homes and the wider community. For the first time, new tree-lined access routes on the site will connect the Merchant City through to the East End via High Street. Work on the first phase of the development is expected to start in 2019, subject to building warrant.
Other than a section currently used as a car park the site has been vacant and derelict for many years. The Molendinar Burn, the original freshwater source upon which Glasgow was founded, passes underneath the site. Throughout its rich history, the area has been home to the original Glasgow University and the Hunterian Museum. Most recently the City of Glasgow Union Railway Company used it as a goods yard.
This new district for Glasgow will be operated and managed by Get Living, the U.K.’s leading large-scale residential investor. Get Living is the most established operator in the U.K.’s build-to-rent sector, operating more than 2,000 homes in London and is best known for East Village, the former Athletes’ Village for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Build-to-rent homes are designed specifically for renting and are professionally managed. The sector can help alleviate housing shortages in city centers, with properties typically brought to the market and occupied more quickly than for-sale developments.
