By Paul White, Director, Garness Jones
Take a detailed look around any major UK town or city and you’ll likely see a good number of historic buildings which have stood empty for some time – buildings which can be given a new lease of life with investment and the right vision.
At Garness Jones, identifying the opportunities these properties can bring, and working with owners, investors, often the local authority and the prospective tenants is something we take great pride in.
It’s something we’ve done in Hull for nearly 30 years and are hugely passionate about.
It’s our city, and we take great pride in every deal done which sees an older property reinvested in, and given a whole new lease of life.
There are many great buildings – in all cities - which just need the right owner and business tenant to bring them back into use. The key is bringing them together.
Across the businesses within the Garness Group, our expertise has seen us involved in many successful transformations of historic city centre properties.
Recent examples include ‘The Bank’ on the corner of George Street and Bond Street in Hull, which now houses luxury living apartments having stood empty for many years, and the Hammonds of Hull building, where a mix of office and leisure has revitalised a major city asset.
Bringing people together to see the opportunity
One recent such project we were involved in has seen a former Hull nightclub, which had stood empty and derelict for more than 15 years, transformed into a new home for East Riding College.
Situated over two floors in Baker Street, the former ‘Rhythm Room’ club has been completely refurbished and turned into a college facility thanks to a significant investment from the owner, with the education provider signing a 10-year lease.
This building, which had been in a poor state of repair after years of vandalism and fires, is now a new, modern campus and a hub for performing arts, music, and digital skills, offering specialised facilities for a range of courses.
Huge credit has to go to the current owner, as they were prepared to invest a significant sum to fully repair and refurbish the property and make it suitable for educational purposes.
Our expertise was spotting the potential for the building and bringing the parties together to ensure all could visualise the opportunity and end product, and commit to making it work together.
It has resulted in a great new home for the college and a property with much greater value, and one generating good, guaranteed long-term income, for the owner.
With all involved singing off the same hymn sheet, this Baker Street property has gone full circle, with music again at its heart – even though the building is now serving a very different purpose to its past.
