A Hull businessman is putting the finishing touches to his first residential development in the city – as he completes on a deal for a second
Jason Kay has converted the upper floors of the former Brown’s Books property in George Street into a mix of 13 one, two and three bedroom apartments, as well refurbishing two ground floor commercial units, with the properties set to hit the market this month.
As the final touches are made to The Binding House, work is beginning on another development in Anlaby Road, where former residential care home Hadley Place is to be transformed into a 24-bedroom multiple occupancy facility. The entire ground floor will be converted into a communal area, including gym, co-working space, cinema and reading rooms.
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It is expected to be completed and ready for tenants by summer of next year.
Mr Kay, who has been investing in property development for three years and has a background in procurement and lead generation, is funding the projects through Sourced Capital, an online peer-to-peer property crowdfunding platform.
He said he is excited to be developing in Hull, and believes there is a strong market for investors in residential conversions, such as in George Street, with The Binding House project. "There’s a really big push in Hull at present, supported by the local authority, to significantly increase the amount of living space in the city centre," he said.
“Hull city centre has lots of commercial buildings where the first and second floors are largely unused and are ideal for converting into modern living spaces, and that was the business plan I had when I set out. There is a real opportunity in this area.
“That was the case with the property in George Street, which used to house the retail store Brown’s Books for many years. We have been able to upgrade the commercial space and make two retail spaces available to let, whilst on the upper floors we have created some really high-spec apartments.
“Given the cost of living crisis there is expected to be a move towards smaller properties and living spaces, and as we’ve seen in recent times, new apartments in Hull have been in high demand.
“We’ve made sure the building is highly insulated, and uses a cost-effective, eco-friendly heating solution, from Hull company iHelios, to bring down the energy costs.
“Importantly, whilst they are all high-spec and include 1GB high speed internet to all apartments, digital entry systems and smart technology, we’ve also made sure we’ve not priced them at the very top end of the market, to make them affordable.”
As reported, Browns, an education specialist, moved to a multi-million pound 44,000 sq ft development on a three acre site on Melton West Business Park, just outside the city, last summer.
Both property sales were handled by Hull-based Garness Jones, with director Paul White encouraged to see continued investment into city centre living.
“We’re seeing continued interest from local and national investors in commercial properties in Hull which offer the opportunity for conversion into residential developments,” he said.
“We’ve been delighted to support Jason in finding the ideal properties for conversion. It is always good to see local people doing good things in Hull.
“Over the past few years we have seen a constant flow of property conversions in Hull city centre, and we have directly been involved in the sale of many of these properties.
“These sort of developments can help breathe new life into the city, creating the vibrant environment we all want to see, which in turn helps city centre businesses to thrive.”
The properties will be looked after by Gro Residential Management, the specialist residential lettings management business which is also part of the Garness Group.
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