Go-ahead sealed for Sheffield’s King’s Tower
A 40-storey development will bring close to 450 co-living units to Sheffield’s Castle Square after approval was given this week.
CJS7, trading as Oppidan Life, is the co-applicant with SFGE Properties on the project, designed by Hodder + Partners.
SFGE had secured consent for a similar tower, of 39 storeys, in 2020, which had been intended to house 206 apartments.
The tower, which had been recommended for approval by planning officers, will be located at the High Street junction on a plot where the former Primark store, empty for seven years, stands.
King’s Tower will including one four-bed cluster, 37 five-bed clusters, 37 six-bed clusters, one seven-bed cluster and one 10-bed cluster.
A further 20 studio apartments will be located in the adjacent 59-73 High Street building,. The part of this building not occupied by easyhotel will be redeveloped as part of the SFGE/Oppidan scheme, with facilities including a gym for residents also featuring here.
SFGE said it hopes to start work this summer. Director Tony Marsden said: “The proposal will provide a key statement building for Sheffield city centre to support meeting its much needed housing requirement.
“We have been a long-term stakeholder in the regeneration of the city centre and in particular the Castlegate area, having delivered developments on either side of Angel Street.”
The project team includes planner Savills, Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture, Define, LTP, ARS, ADT, Avison Young, Clancy, Watt Energy & Consulting Engineers, BB7 and RWDI.
Matthew Sobic, planning director at Savills, adds: ” The addition of new residential and commercial space in Sheffield is welcome news for the city and its economy. The plans will see the re-purposing of long-term vacant commercial floorspace in the city centre which will provide new homes and active ground floor commercial and amenity uses that will serve residents of the development and the wider area.
“This approval represents a great opportunity to deliver a new high-quality gateway to the city centre which will provide new homes on a brownfield site and will support attracting residents to live within it, who will in turn support the economic prosperity of surrounding businesses and facilities.”
Further can be expected in the area from the property entrepreneur Colin Shenton’s stable, of which CJS7 is part – Shenton owns buildings on both sides of King Street.
Last week he told Place Yorkshire that the King’s Tower would be a “landmark,” adding that the proposal is “the result of two years of collaboration with Sheffield City Council which have produced the highest quality co-living scheme in the country”.
