Bath Spa University has exchanged contracts to buy Green Park House, the high-profile regeneration project in Bath city centre, for student accommodation.
The re-development of the derelict former Green Park residential care home opposite Green Park station will create accommodation for 460 students along with a café and management suite.
Construction work is already underway by Berkeley Homes, part of the Berkeley Group, which acquired the gateway site for development at the end of 2013.
No financial details of the deal have been released. Ahead of Berkeley’s acquisition, the 1.2-acre site, which also includes the former Ernest Ireland House office block, was on the market for £7.5m.
An earlier attempt to turn Green Park House into a 190-room hotel by previous owners Topland, the property investment group that owns Bath’s Royal Crescent Hotel, failed.
Bath Spa’s acquisition of the building continues the 7,000-student university’s development programme which has recently included a new state-of-the-art academic building and student residential accommodation on its Newton Park campus on the city’s outskirts.
It also follows council legislation to limit the number of student house-shares in neighbourhoods around the city.
Bath Spa vice-chancellor professor Christina Slade said: “I am delighted that we have secured Green Park House for the next phase of our development plans.
“This new development will allow more first-year students to be housed in dedicated student accommodation, and provide more choice of on-campus and off-campus housing. The university is making significant investments to enhance the quality of our student experience, and this is a very welcome addition to the facilities available to Bath Spa students.”
Berkeley Homes (Oxford & Chiltern) chairman Andrew Saunders-Davies added: “The construction of Green Park House is well underway and we are delighted to have agreed the sale of the building to Bath Spa University.
“Once completed, the development will provide very high-quality, purpose-built, managed student accommodation in a sustainable location in the city centre.”
Work is scheduled for completion in summer 2016.
Pictured: An artist's impression of Green Park House following its redevelopment
