Goodstone Living, the UK build to rent platform recently launched by Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management, has acquired a four-acre (1.6 hectare) development site in central Birmingham where it plans to deliver over 500 homes.
The acquisition marks Goodstone Living's first development project in the UK. The site is located in Birmingham’s creative quarter of Digbeth, which has been described by The Sunday Times as Britain’s ‘coolest’ neighbourhood.
Besides rental homes, the scheme, known as Camp Hill Gardens, will provide affordable commercial space aimed at local businesses as well as onsite amenities and central Birmingham's largest private garden.
Goodstone Living said it plans to transform the site into a ‘thriving rental community’, integrating innovation, sustainability, wellbeing and customer service to create ‘a better way to rent’.
The site, which has a gross development value of £150 mln (€176 mln), was acquired from Eutopia Homes, which secured planning back in March for a mixed residential and commercial scheme.
Martin Bellinger, principal at Goodstone Living, said: ‘Our strategy is focused on long-term value creation and this requires us to be able to identify significant regeneration opportunities where demographics and cultural shifts are occurring to transform areas in need of new housing.
‘As the UK's second largest city by population, Birmingham benefits from a large and growing pool of potential residents demanding high-quality, purpose-built and professionally managed rental accommodation. This makes Birmingham the perfect place for our first development project, and we look forward to transforming Camp Hill Gardens into a vibrant residential community, while also celebrating Digbeth’s rich industrial heritage.’
Macquarie Asset Management announced the launch of Goodstone Living in June, with the aim of capitalising on the ‘significant’ market opportunity in the UK’s purpose-built rental housing sector.
