Apache Capital Partners and Harrison Street, an alternative real asset investment firm, are to fund a landmark build-to-rent development in central Edinburgh that will be delivered and operated for the long term by Moda Living.
The £215 million scheme, known as Springside, will include 476 new homes alongside 48 existing full-leased studio and one two-bedroom apartments. It will also include shops and leisure space.
Apache Capital and Moda Living purchased the Springside site, which included the 48 existing homes, in March 2017 from Grosvenor Great Britain and Ireland.
Grosvenor, which is one of the UK’s oldest property companies, was said to have specifically chosen Apache and Moda for the two firms’ BTR expertise.
The Fountainbridge site will offer access to entertainment, shopping, public transportation as well as proximity to some of the city’s largest employers including Pricewaterhouse- Coopers, Ernst & Young and BlackRock.
It will also have communal lounges, health and wellbeing facilities plus roof terraces and a private dining room with unique views of Edinburgh Castle, as well as managed communal gardens. The site will be centred around new landscaped public squares, with claims it will create an “urban village” with a year-long calendar of events and activities for residents and the wider public.
John Dunkerley, chief executive and co-founder of Apache said: ”We are committed to delivering and expanding our build-to-rent pipeline with both Harrison Street and Moda Living despite the near-term disruption being caused by Covid-19.”
He said “there remains a fundamental mismatch between supply and demand for high quality purpose-built rental housing in the UK and for investors seeking long-term, steady income streams from assets with defensive, counter-cyclical qualities, build-to-rent remains highly attractive as a sector”.
By Brian Donnelly
Source: Herald Scotland