Scarborough International Properties Limited, the UK and international real estate developer and investor, has been appointed by Sheffield City Council and Legacy Park Limited (LPL) as preferred development partner for the expansion of the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, a major regeneration project, in the lower Don Valley area of Sheffield. LPL is a partnership between Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Scarborough’s role will be working with the Council and all LPL stakeholders to assemble the site for Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and lead the project team through the whole design, development, letting and funding process.
LPL has proposed a potential area for Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park covering some 200 acres, although in the first instance Scarborough will focus on an initial masterplan zone covering circa 70 acres around existing buildings such as the Fly DSA Arena, the English Institute for Sport, Sheffield, the UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and the Oasis Academy Don Valley. Development of up to 750,000 sq ft of business space for the sport, health and well-being sector is anticipated within this initial zone.
Scarborough is already under contract with Sheffield City Council to bring forward a £6 million Community Sports Stadium at the park, incorporating more than 20,000 sq ft of business and conference space, which is planned to complete next summer. Among other teams, the stadium will be home to Sheffield United Women’s football team.
Scarborough plans for its first project as preferred development partner a building of around 40,000 sq ft of office space, close to Sheffield Hallam University’s ‘Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre’ which is due to open this Autumn. Scarborough expects to commence work on its building early in the New Year.
Kevin McCabe, Chairman of Scarborough International Properties Limited, commented: “We believe in Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and the ability of Sheffield, my home city, to create and support a unique business environment that achieves Legacy Park Limited’s ambitious vision. We have been building our commitment to the project over the last two years, signing up in 2018 to develop and run the Community Stadium, and we now look forward accelerating the delivery of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park to bring jobs and economic growth back to the Lower Don Valley area”.
The aim of the park, which includes the site of the well-known former Don Valley Stadium, is to deliver a tangible legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games through a combination of world-class sports facilities, education, new skills, research and innovation, environmental improvements and opportunities for the local community. The vision is that it will become one of the world’s leading locations for innovation in sport, health and wellbeing.
Significant progress has already been achieved at the park by LPL with the development of new amenities including:
- Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre for Sheffield Hallam University, which targets businesses engaged in collaborative research and taking products from concept to market
- UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, a university technical college with capacity for 600 students aged 14-19 specialising in human science and computing
- Oasis Academy Don Valley, an academy school for children aged 2-16
Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park will also benefit from incorporating the well-established sports and leisure facilities in the area, including:
- English Institute of Sport, Sheffield, a world class multisport venue for professional athletes, university students and the local community.
- iceSheffield, an Olympic-standard, twin-pad ice sports arena.
- The Fly DSA Arena, Sheffield’s major events venue.
