New pictures show the progress of Cardiff's sold-out Laundry Quarter development as the first residents moved in in June. The site, which includes new houses, apartments and retail spaces, has been developed on what was previously a laundry that served the Pontcanna area for more than 160 years.
The homes had sold out months ahead of their completion date. The development comprises of 34 homes, including 16 houses and 18 apartments, and nine retail spaces for independent businesses. Developers Portabella received planning permission to re-develop the site in February 2020.
The first residents moved into the properties in June this year, with more to follow in the coming months and the development set to be completed by autumn. As of January 2022, Portabella said that all the properties in the development had sold out.
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Due to the pandemic, there was a six-month delay in beginning construction however Commercial Director of Portabella, Peter Reilly, said that this gave the developers more time to “fine-tune the details and get everything as good as everything can be.” Based on a private road just of Romilly Crescent, the site provides short rows of four and five-bedroom homes around landscaped areas, including off-road parking.
The site opens out onto Llandaff Road, with many of the one and two-bedroom apartments set to have outdoor space in addition to a shared rooftop terrace. Out of the nine retail units in the development, terms have been agreed for eight commercial tenants.
Peter Reilly told WalesOnline: "Our first residents moved in during June and by the end of this week we will have half of our houses occupied with the remainder of the development scheduled to be completed in the autumn. The development sold out quite some time ago so people have been eagerly waiting to get in to their new homes.
"We have agreed terms with commercial tenants on eight of our nine retail spaces and we are excited to soon reveal the mix. We targeted strong local, independent operators and we're delighted with the operators we have attracted, it's going to be a great destination."
The development is taking place on what was previously a laundry site that served the Pontcanna community for over 160 years. Vaughan’s Laundry, a dry-cleaning business, was set up by William Vaughan in 1860. The Llandaff Road site was the headquarters of WE Vaughan & Co, Mr Vaughan’s 22-shop business, until it closed in the 1970s.
More recently, the site has been home to independent businesses such as the Bone Yard and Dusty Knuckle - which have since moved to the top of Cowbridge Road East - as well as the Printhaus, which now operates out of Chapter Arts Centre.
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