Regeneration specialist U+I has completed the sale of a new medical centre at Preston Barracks to healthcare real estate investment trust, Assura. Preston Barracks is one of Brighton’s largest ever regeneration projects, being delivered by U+I in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council and University of Brighton.
The Preston Barracks surgery, which is scheduled for completion in late 2022, is a flagship primary care scheme for the local health system resulting from a collaboration between the occupying NHS GP practices, NHSE and the local authority. Following completion of the shell, Assura will take possession and fit out the space ready for clinical care and retain the long-term ownership of the facility.
The 1,000 sq m primary care facility will accommodate two practices with 13 consulting and treatment rooms, alongside a 60 sq m pharmacy. It will serve more than 11,000 local patients, with that number expected to rise to 13,000 due to new housing developments.
The medical centre complements the mix of uses at Preston Barracks, where a 50,000 sq ft Plus X innovation hub and 534 student bedrooms opened in 2020. 369 new homes, five retail spaces, a new pedestrian bridge and improved public realm and landscaping will complete in 2021.
The wider scheme will establish the Lewes Road area as a prosperous new academic and economic corridor in Brighton, creating over 1,500 jobs and injecting more than £280 million into the local economy over the next ten years.
Assura manages and owns more than 590 GP surgery, primary care, diagnostic and treatment centre buildings around the UK. Nationally, the specialist primary care property investor and developer is currently on site with 15 new healthcare developments at a total cost of £71 million.
Roger Serginson, of Assura said: “We’re delighted to be a part of this innovative partnership to create modern fit for purpose premises for the delivery of primary care services for local patients. This is a great example of how by working together, we can help deliver modern accommodation fit for the future which – as the pandemic has shown – has never been more important.”
Rob Sloper, Development Director at U+I, commented: “Our ambition at Preston Barracks is to create a thriving community in Brighton; a place where people want to live, learn, work and are proud to be a part of. The new medical facility will be of real value to the local people, providing them with first‐class care on their doorstep.”
About Preston Barracks
U+I is working in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council and University of Brighton to deliver Preston Barracks, one of Brighton’s biggest ever mixed‐use regeneration schemes. The £200 million GDV project is reviving the derelict Preston Barracks, once owned by the Ministry of Defence, and establishing the Lewes Road area as a thriving new academic and economic corridor in Brighton. The development will create over 1,500 jobs and inject more than £280 million into the local economy over the next ten years. It will also deliver 369 new homes, including affordable housing, and 534 student bedrooms in managed halls of residence, meeting a widely recognised shortfall in the city, as well as a new home for the University’s Business School.
Planning permission was secured in December 2017 for the comprehensive regeneration of Preston Barracks and the University of Brighton’s Moulsecoomb campus. The sale of the student accommodation element in February 2018 allowed for the scheme to commence on site. The Plus X Innovation Hub was the first building to launch at Preston Barracks.
About U+I
U+I is a specialist regeneration developer and investor. With an >£11.5bn portfolio of complex, mixed-use, community-focused regeneration projects including a £147.1m investment portfolio, we are unlocking urban sites bristling with potential in the London City Region (within one hour’s commute from Central London), Manchester and Dublin. We exist to deliver create long-term socio-economic benefit for the communities in which we work, delivering sustainable returns to our shareholders.
