New development sees £170m Newcastle city centre 'gateway' project expand

Developers Gainford Group have made a new acquisition which will form part of its plans for the city.

 A multimillion-pound deal has been struck for a prime Newcastle city centre office which is set to form part of a major £170m regeneration scheme.

 Gainford Group – owners of the Vermont Hotel, County Hotel and bars and restaurants including Aveika and Livello – has snapped up New Croft House in Market Street, as part of its plans to regenerate the neglected part of the city. The firm says the current tenants, the NHS, will remain in the building for the foreseeable future, as it mulls plans for the property.

 The building is set to form part of plans to create a new gateway into Newcastle, which will take shape around the former Premier Inn hotel. Gainford Group acquired the old hotel in 2019 for an undisclosed sum after it was marketed with an asking price of at least £3.2m.

 Gainford Group director Imran Khaliq said: “New Croft House is set to be included in the overall scheme. Development is currently pending the planning permissions but it’s all going to be one impressive scheme to create a new gateway in from the eastern side of the city.

 “This latest acquisition ties in with our vision for the area but it is a brand new acquisition so we have yet to decide exactly what use it will have, whether that be residential, retail, office or hospitality.

 "The main thing is that we have an exciting vision for this huge project and we’re looking forward to integrating this new multimillion-pound acquisition into the New Bridge Project, working with our partners at FaulknerBrowns and with Newcastle City Council.

 “The fact we have made this new purchase further demonstrates our commitment and dedication to the new development, which is coming together through further planning and development and working with the local authorities.”

 After pausing development plans for the Premier Inn during the pandemic, the Chester-le-Street group revised its designs for the site, unveiling revamped imagery at this year’s Mipim real estate conference in Cannes.

 Their new images show how the neglected entrance to the city could dominate the eastern side of the city, sitting close to regeneration work on the East Pilgrim Street area where the new HMRC building is springing up.

 The design proposes a new skyscraping residential building providing 185 new homes and a new 150-bedroom hotel is also included, alongside new bars and restaurants and a health club.

 Gainford Group, which also owns Milburn House, currently operates a number of hotels around Newcastle city centre, but it has yet to be decided if it would run the new hotel or seek to bring in a leisure brand to manage and operate the property.

 Mr Khaliq added: “The fact we have made this new purchase further demonstrates our commitment and dedication to the new development, which is coming together through further planning and development and work with the local authorities.”

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