Scarborough Group, the UK and international real estate investor and developer, has announced that it has secured a new letting with The Range, the British home, garden, and leisure retail chain, at its £26.6 mln (approx. €38.6 mln) Marina Quay development, the former fairground site on the seafront in Rhyl, North Wales.
The Range has signed for 35,000 ft² (approx. 3,250 m²) of retail space as well as a 5,000 ft² (approx. 465 m²) external garden centre on a 20-year lease and will be the new anchor tenant for the 16-acre mixed-use scheme. Harvey Spack Field and Rawstron Johnson advised on this deal.
Following the administration of the previous owners, Scarborough Group acquired the site in 2010 and has been working hard in the intervening period to ensure its success. A deliverable planning consent for the development was secured in November 2014 for up to 74,800 ft² (approx. 6,950 m²) of open A1 use, 44,100 ft² (approx. 4,100 m²) of additional A1 Non-food retail, cafes and restaurants, a family pub and a hotel. Formerly known as Ocean Plaza, Scarborough re-branded the scheme at the beginning of the year as Marina Quay to reflect the modern, vibrant retail and leisure offer that the scheme will deliver.
Designed by NW Architects, the development will generate approx. 500 jobs in an area which is subject to relatively low levels of economic activity. This is likely to include a number of part time opportunities which would potentially be attractive to the full range of the employment market.
Given that a significant number of new jobs will be created, Scarborough Group is keen to work with the Council to target such employment opportunities by giving the earliest thought to the provision of local training through existing Council bodies and initiatives.
Scarborough will now be submitting a reserved matters application for the first phase of the development with a view to starting construction of the first phase at the beginning of 2016.
Source: Scarborough Group
