Regent Shopping Centre

The Evergold Group has acquired Hamilton’s 6 acre Regent Shopping Centre for an undisclosed sum. Tahir Ali, of national property development and asset management group Evergold, has had a series of “detailed discussions” with South Lanarkshire Council on the future of the town centre site which is part of a local authority masterplan to construct 450 new homes in Hamilton Town Centre.

Occupying a dominant position in Hamilton town centre, the centre’s positioning and scale means that it makes up a significant proportion of the town centre core.

The centre has been identified as a key site in South Lanarkshire Council’s masterplan vision for the regeneration of Hamilton town centre to create a vibrant, accessible, and resilient town centre with a focus on living, leisure, healthcare and workspace as well as incorporating a significantly reduced retail element.

Radical plans include reducing the town centre’s vacant retail spaces by more than two-thirds, building houses and creating new leisure uses including an urban park.

Evergold made clear that deciding on the best future for the Regent Shopping Centre site will take some time to determine. An artist’s impression of the new residential neighbourhood which could be developed in place of the Regent shopping centre. Lanarkshire Live previously reported that the sweeping changes would include knocking down both the Regent and New Cross shopping centres, repurposing or demolishing the former Bairds department store and the former Marks & Spencer building, and creating a hotel on the site of Duke Street car park.

Evergold say the redevelopment of Regent Shopping Centre “would by far” be the largest and most important repositioning project identified in the council’s masterplan. Any such redevelopment could take a number of years to bring forward.

A new urban park is proposed for Hamilton’s current civic space area at Castle Street,

Mr Ali said: “We have already held a series of detailed discussions with South Lanarkshire Council and are looking forward to working closely with them, together with the current tenants, local community and key stakeholders, over the coming years to ensure the most productive use is continued to be achieved for this six-acre gateway site.

“The centre’s previous owners have been judicious investors for Hamilton and continue to be through their ownership of the Palace Grounds Retail Park in the town centre.

“Our plans for the centre are aligned closely with the council’s aim to have a diverse and sustainable mixed use town centre that not only serves its immediate catchment but also becomes a vibrant hub for the wider region.

“Over the coming months and years, we will explore the many ways that can be achieved.”

Alison Brown, Head of Enterprise and Sustainable Development at South Lanarkshire Council, said: “As a council we have been in dialogue with Mr Ali for some months in respect of delivering the ambition of the Hamilton Town Centre Masterplan. We look forward to continuing to work with him as we move forward.”

Evergold have instructed Calvin Molinari from Shepherd Chartered Surveyors to deal with new letting enquiries.

He can be contacted at c.molinari@shepherd.co.uk

Article from: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area/lanarkshire/property-firm-take-over-hamilton-35457555

Recent Project

National property development and asset management firm Evergold has unveiled its vision for a £50 million 300-home regeneration scheme for The Postings Shopping Centre in Kirkcaldy.

Tahir Ali from the company bought the strategic three-acre town centre gateway site for £320,000 from pension fund Columbia Threadneedle three years ago.

Mr Ali plans to demolish the derelict shopping centre, which has been repeatedly ransacked and vandalised over recent months.

To enable the demolition of the former Postings Shopping Centre, Mr Ali has had to acquire many other properties along the High Street over the past two years through private and often complicated negotiations.

These have included the Bank of Scotland and the large New Look and former Debenhams buildings. Whilst the closed former Debenhams store was revamped and temporarily re-opened as Fife Department Store a year ago, this unit will be closed on October 30th 2022, to allow the demolition works to proceed.

Fife Department Store will have to be closed so that the popular fashion retailer New Look is able to continue trading on Kirkcaldy High Street. A huge sum was spent on stocking the store when it opened. All remaining stock will be donated to ‘The Cottage Family Centre’, one of the many local charities doing great work throughout the Kirkcaldy community during this time of need.

Once the demolition is complete the site will be sold to a large developer who will redevelop it with a comprehensive residential scheme comprising up to 300 flats interlinked with green walkways designed to encourage pedestrian movement to and from the High Street and featuring landscaped public spaces.

“No-one could have predicted how radically the world would change within a year of purchasing The Postings Shopping Centre at auction in 2019,” said Mr Ali.

“Even though we had a number of exciting deals in the pipeline with an independent supermarket chain and state-of-the-art cinema operation in the former Tesco unit, the Covid pandemic put an abrupt end to those plans. This prompted us to reconsider the site with a fresh approach.

“Covid taught me the need to remain dynamic and flexible with property projects, and that agility, coupled with support from Fife Council and local councillors, has enabled us to radically rethink the proposition.

“Coupled with ongoing developments along the picturesque Esplanade and Merchants Quarter in Kirkcaldy town centre, our redevelopment in the heart of Kirkcaldy should help attract other investors to progress their own plans for restaurants, more national chains, cinemas, hotels and other potential developments that will help revitalise and regenerate the town centre and attract more people back to the area as a place to live, work and play.”

Mr Ali has been working closely with Greg Limb of Ryden on the regeneration scheme for over two years. Ryden has been advising on the best way forward for the project and dealing with interest which has already been expressed in the redevelopment proposals.

Article from
https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/ps50m-regeneration-vision-unveiled-for-former-kirkcaldy-shopping-centre