Sheffield's Regeneration

Standing at the sky’s edge in 2012, the view of the steel city looked very different than it does today. It would have been difficult to envisage the changes that have taken place as the regeneration of the city continues to drive forward with a master plan to build on Sheffield’s heritage and architectural successes.

Six years ago, the city ranked in the bottom forty per cent of the vibrant economy index and has now climbed ninety-five places, sitting proudly at the top of the list as England’s most improved place. Sheffield has repeatedly demonstrated a good balance between economic growth, social equality, and sustainability with healthy and happy people.

Sheffield like any city, still has areas of significant deprivation and high numbers of long term unemployment, however, the city has gained in momentum over the past couple of decades, the local economy has strengthened and become more resilient and vibrant. Sheffield quite simply, is a city on the up, a city that not only celebrates its industrial past, but a city, which believes in its future and looks forward with optimism.

The Heart of the City II

Credit: Sheffield City Council

Formerly know as the Sheffield Retail Quarter, the £470 million Heart of the City II scheme is one of Sheffield’s key economic projects. The scheme has been integral to the major redevelopment of the city centre. Backed by Sheffield City Council in partnership with its strategic development partner - Queensberry, the scheme aims to bring the best shopping, leisure, residential and office opportunities into the region.

The project aims to integrate and complement the existing architecture. Centrally located in the heart of the city, the site adjoins the main shopping areas of Fargate, The Moor and Division Street, adjacent to the Town Hall and City Hall and halfway between The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.

This new quarter will celebrate the existing architecture and buildings of heritage to create new leisure and retail spaces to encourage further investment and visitors to Sheffield’s city centre. The plan also has the provision for additional commerce, with the development of Grade A office blocks, residential apartments, a hotel, car park facilities and green public spaces.

Grosvenor House

The development of Grosvenor House marked the completion of Phase One in the spring of 2019. HSBC employees relocated to the Heart of the City II after the multinational investment bank signed a fifteen-year lease to occupy the building.

The new office space features a bright and spacious central atrium, a stylish rooftop terrace and modern offices. The building also includes retail outlets and contemporary landscaped public spaces.

Laycock House

The Heart of the City II scheme saw two new blocks, Block B and Block C on Pinstone Street, granted planning approval earlier this year. Laycock House sits in a prominent location occupying a central position with Cross Burgess Street to the North, Pinstone Street to the East and Charles Street to the West.

The plans for Laycock House by Leonard Design complements the historic Pinstone Street façade. This is a good example of a late Victorian building, which has survived to present day relatively in its complete and original form. Work will see a sensitive renovation of the residences and smaller retail units fronting onto Pinstone Street.

The development proposal is to retain Laycock House and demolish and reconstruct the rest of the block. In total, the block will feature almost 11,000 square foot of space suitable for shops, restaurants or cafés on the ground floor. The floors above will accommodate a small amount of office space - to be named Athol House and 52 quality urban apartments, which will be planned across 7 floors, ranging from studio apartments to 3 bedroomed apartments to be known as Burgess House.

Isaacs House

The second block on Pinstone Street has been commonly referred to as The Pepper Pot, but will be officially renamed Isaacs House. The building is situated between Pinstone Street, Cambridge Street and Charles Street and was originally built for paper hangings merchant David Isaacs in 1904.

Behind the sympathetically restored Pinstone Street frontage, the building will be completely reimagined to provide 37,600 square foot of contemporary workspace and 10,000 square foot of prime retail and leisure space.

The ground floor will have 5 retail units and the building will step up in height from 3 storeys to 8 storeys on the new build side.

Five Ways Square

This city block will comprise of a diverse range of buildings and uses, all centered around a unique dining court. The mixed-use site may also include events space, a boutique cinema and a unique makers/sellers space in Leah’s Yard.

John Lewis

The existing John Lewis building will remain it’s current location and current service provisions will be reworked along Burgess Street with enhanced links from the Peace Gardens through to Five Ways Square and ultimately to Wellington Street.

Carver Street

This city block is a stone’s throw from Charter Square and the Devonshire Quarter and will accommodate the highest diversity of use in the scheme. Anchored by a bold new office development with a striking lobby accessed from Carver Street and having retail units on the ground floor.

Immediately adjacent to this new office block is the existing 38 Carver Street building. This building will be refurbished and re-clad and the parking provision for the project will be by way of a multi-storey parking deck.

Vita and NCP

Sitting to the West of the Heart of the City II site and providing retail and leisure facilities with student accommodation and parking. The current NCP car park will be redeveloped into an iconic centrepiece for the Heart of the City II scheme, which will complete the redevelopment of Charter Square. The former British Telecom tower was extensively refurbished in 2016, providing upmarket student residences by Vita Student.

Kangaroo Works

Credit: Whittam Cox Architects

An important residential site within the master plan for The Heart of the City II will bring over 360 homes within a £60 million residential building. Situated at the corner of Rockingham Street and Wellington Street, close to Devonshire Green, is a mainly cleared site, which has been acquired by a joint venture company, made up by Ridgeback Group and Angelo Gordon.

The group has appointed locally based Whittam Cox Architects and construction partner Henry Boot Construction Ltd.

The scheme comprises 364 dwellings with a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroomed apartments, which will be built and operated under the Build to Rent Sector model, creating a community of residents who will contribute to the future wealth and vitality of the city centre.

Commercial space will be provided at ground floor levels, providing active frontages to Rockingham and Wellington Streets. The building will also adopt the courtyard model that is prevalent in the local Victorian warehouses. The development will have a stepped roof, responding to the sloping typology of the site and forming a transition between the formal city centre and the more historic Devonshire Quarter.

The use of brick as the primary material takes inspiration from Sheffield’s urban heritage and the name Kangaroo Works will play homage to the former tool factory, which was as instrumental part of the site in the early nineteenth century.

Further Developments Across the City

Eye Witness Works

Capital & Centric have submitted planning to convert Eye Witness Works on Milton Street into design led residential and leisure spaces designed by Shedkm Architects. The £21 million pound restoration project of the iconic Eye Witness Works and Ceylon Works will also see the construction of a six-storey building on the site, which was formerly home to the Brunswick Hotel. The development will begin the regeneration of the area, which will include 97 loft apartments and town houses, along with a 900 square foot café bar.

Castlegate and Sheffield Castle

Sheffield City Council has allocated nearly £800,000 from its Capital Growth Fund to kick-start the regeneration of the Castlegate area by making it more attractive, modern and vibrant. The money has been earmarked to transform disused retail outlets, to create a new green corridor and to help protect the city’s Old Town Hall as well as financing a major architectural dig and the uncovering of the underground River Sheaf.

Fitzalan Square and The Knowledge Gateway

Fitzalan Square has been cleared in preparation for The Knowledge Gateway. This project aims to transform the corridor running along the Lower Sheaf to the Porter Valley. It will seek to improve links between several key destinations and development areas within the city. The project will enhance accessibility and safety and will include the improvement of Sheffield Midland Station, the cultural industries quarter, the digital campus, and Sheffield Hallam’s University campus. Key locations such as Fitzalan Square and streets such as Esperanto Place and Paternoster Row will be transformed as part of the process.

Park Hill

Pioneering architects Urban Splash has now declared the completion of ‘Phase One’ of Europe’s largest listed structure. In January 2019 work began on the second phase of Sheffield’s iconic Park Hill Flats.

The £30 million, 4 year renovation of 5 more blocks of the grade II listed building will provide a further 260 homes as well as cafes, offices and shops. Another three phases are planned for the site, which will include a block dedicated to student accommodation, additional green spaces and an art gallery.

Pinstone Street and Furnival Gate

Specialist institutional investor Corem Investment Management has purchased a site with planning consent for a 32 storey mixed use development.

Planning was granted in November 2018 for the demolition of Mid City House, the existing four storey building on the corner of Pinstone Street and Furnival Gate. Designed by Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson Architects, the redevelopment scheme involves building three linked buildings including a 32 storey skyscraper (rivalling Sheffield’s tallest building, St Pauls Tower), a second tower of up to 13 floors and a third rising to 8 floors.

The upper floors will comprise of private rented sector accommodation with retail units on the lower floors to create a gateway to the Moor and the emerging Heart of the City II.

West Bar Square

West Bar Square is a regeneration project in the heart of the riverside business district, situated on the inner ring road between Kelham Island and Sheffield’s Cathedral Quarter. A joint venture between Urbo Regeneration Ltd and Peveril Securities, West Bar Square is set to deliver an 800,000 square foot development of high quality office, retail, leisure, hotel and living space to create a modern campus environment.

The first phase of development will comprise of 200,000 square feet of Grade A office space, 350 build to rent homes, a multi-storey car park and quality landscaped public spaces.

Fargate Court

A private development of 50 post graduate luxury apartments is currently under construction at Fargate Court overlooking Fargate and Chapel Walk. The £4.6 million pound scheme is due to be completed by the end of 2019.

New Era Square

New Era Square is a vibrant new destination in Sheffield currently under construction to produce offices, shops, restaurants, living accommodation and fourteen private residences centred around a pedestrianised plaza.

Work on Phase Two is now in progress to complete the remaining office blocks on this 5-block gateway development. The project has been entirely funded inbound Chinese investment and is being developed by New Era Development (UK) Ltd. The scheme has been dubbed “Sheffield’s Chinatown” and “Sheffield’s very own version of New York’s Times Square” and has been well documented in the national press.

Deacon House

A multi million pound refurbishment on Eyre Street to bring new retail and commercial opportunities to the Moor area of Sheffield. The building was formerly home to HSBC and will create 6 retail opportunities and contemporary office space specifically aimed at smaller, creative and digital industries.

Platform

Private rented sector developer Platform is to deliver a new build scheme of 350 private apartments on the site of a former car park. The Sylvester Street site is situated in the Cultural Industries Quarter. The rear of the site will be an L-shaped block of up to 14 storeys with a connecting block of 7 storeys. There will also be a smaller stand-alone block ranging from 5 to 6 storeys in order to remain in keeping with the surrounding architecture.

Great Central

Kelham Island’s expansion continues with a £22 million development from Knight Knox. The project will be built over 8 floors on the corner of Mowbray Street and Chatham Street.

The scheme has been designed by Sheffield based Coda Architecture. Once Phase Two is completed the development will have 131 apartments, 200 studios and two commercial units on the ground floor.

Hoyle Street

Hoyle Street is a major £70 million apartment scheme, which is set to become a flagship residential development for the Scotfield Group.

The site will consist of 5 blocks ranging from 4 to 24 floors in height and will contain 490 residential units including studios, one, two and three bedroom apartments and 11 four-bedroom townhouses. There will also be 4 commercial units (totalling 6,000 square feet), new public squares and pedestrian routes, and a number of private indoor and outdoor amenity spaces for residents and over 6,000 square feet of commercial space.