Middlesbrough’s Debenhams hits the market
The 71,000 sq ft former department store is available for £1.2m, with a range of potential uses on the table.
Leeds-based agent NorthCap is handling the disposal of the store on the behalf of LPA receiver Kroll. The asking price reflects a capital value of £16.90 per sq ft.
In the sales brochure, NorthCap said: “We have discussed the property at length with decision makers at both Middlesbrough Borough Council and the Mayoral Development Corporation who are very supportive of revitalising the property and would be supportive of any change of uses, subject to statutory planning laws.
“We believe the ground floor would lend itself to both retail and leisure uses with the upper floors being suitable to conversion to apartments, student residential, office or a hotel/serviced apartments. The subject property occupies a highly prominent position in the prime retail and leisure area of the town and benefits from heavy footfall throughout the daytime and evening.”
Before being taken on by the department store group, the building, at the junction of Newport Road and Linthorpe Road, housed a hotel.
Location-wise, the plot is surrounded by Middlesbrough’s three main shopping centres: it has a direct entrance from the Hill Street Centre, while the Cleveland Centre and Captain Cook Square, currently amid a leisure-led re-positioning, are also within easy reach. Teesside University is also nearby.
A department store since 1912, the building is arranged over six floors, two of them basement levels – the top floor is a 1960s addition to the original structure, designed in the French baroque style.
Projects are moving forward at varying paces across the country to redevelop Debenhams sites. This summer saw the opening of Gravity MAX, a £10m leisure destination at the former Liverpool site, while the Manchester location is under development as the Rylands, a blend of offices, shops and restaurants.
