Latest plans to transform Sunderland’s Riverside have been unveiled

 

INVESTOR Legal & General and developer Landid have shared new CGI impressions for two new office buildings at Riverside, which will be part of Sunderland City Council’s plan to bring 10,000 new jobs into the city.

A close-up artistic impression of how the offices would look.

If planning permission is granted, work on the first of the two buildings will begin early next year, with completion expected in 2022.

It is hoped that, once completed, the two new buildings will bring hundreds of highly-skilled jobs to the city.

The Riverside masterplan also promises to bring 1000 new sustainable homes to the city.

Underpinned by a £100m investment commitment from Legal & General – part of their combined £160m pledge to this and one other site in the city – the masterplan will create a spectacular city centre destination – a place to live, work and play.

The plan, which has been developed by the council working with a world-class team of regeneration and built-environment specialists, will reinvigorate the city centre, bringing new residents, workers and visitors to the heart of Sunderland, helping to support traders by day and night.

An artistic impression of how Sunderland’s two new office buildings would look.

The key features of the masterplan include:

  • 1,000 sustainable homes to rent and buy, in four stunning riverside neighbourhoods housing 2,500 residents
  • One million sq ft of modern office space, in a new central business district, providing 8-10,000 new jobs
  • a new city centre site for a major life sciences/healthcare facility
  • Plans for a state-of-the-art library and community hub – the Culture House – that will attract 600,000 visitors a year to a new site in Keel Square
  • The upgrading of St Mary’s Boulevard into a stylish new main street, and the construction of new connectivity for walkers and cyclists across the River Wear
  • Transformation of Galley’s Gill into a superb landscape park, and new green spaces in the heart of the city
  • Smart City infrastructure, that will make Sunderland an even better place to live, work and play.
The Riverside masterplan will also bring 1000 new homes to the city.

In a statement, Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council said: “Riverside Sunderland will transform a part of the city that has vast potential. It’s a masterplan that will reinvigorate the city in a wider sense too – creating a place we can be proud to call the heart of Sunderland,”

“It’s a vision that we know is deliverable, and that will be truly game-changing for Sunderland. We’re aiming high because it’s what our residents deserve and it’s what the city needs – vision backed by a determination to deliver.”

The leader said the plan would revitalise the whole city, breathing new life into the city centre, and putting Sunderland on the map as an exciting place to live, work and play.

“Riverside Sunderland is just the beginning. Sunderland is springing back to life. We’re seeing more and more investment flooding into the city. The private sector is alive to the opportunities and that is bringing about transformation at a pace not seen for decades.

“This will be a ‘magnet city’. Aspirational families will move here. Corporates will see this as a place they want to do business – and their people will spend money in the city centre stimulating new jobs and business growth. Visitors will come to enjoy our unique offer – riverside, seaside and city centre. We will attract people – we will reinvent the heart of Sunderland and send a message that this is the place to be,” added Cllr Miller.

“The masterplan is our blueprint for the development of Sunderland, and we’re very proud to be driving it.”

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