Green light given for 433-home development at former Glasgow Police HQ

Housing developer Moda has gained planning permission to transform the former Strathclyde Police headquarters in Glasgow into a 433-home “build-to-rent neighbourhood”.

Approved by Glasgow City Council yesterday, the developer will redevelop the Pitt Street area into the large housing neighbourhood, at a projected cost of £120m. Homes will range in size from studios to three-bedroom units, and about 900 people will live there when fully complete with space allocated for start-ups and health and wellbeing facilities.

The project is a joint venture with real estate investment management firm Apache Capital Partners and it’s hoped construction will start later this year with the first homes available to the public from 2022.

The development has been widely well received with the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce responding to the plans by saying “design proposals are of an exceptional quality, and will provide vitality and vibrancy to this part of the city which is in urgent need of investment”.

Tony Brooks, managing director at Moda, said: “Securing planning permission for Holland Park is a real milestone for the business, and puts us one step closer to creating the UK’s leading lifestyle property brand. The absence of objections during the consultation and state of support from the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is a real testament to the strength of the Moda and Apache Capital model, which will offer renters in the city an experience far above and beyond what is already available.”

The proposals also include allocation for 31,000 sq ft of outdoor space with plenty of room for the incorporation of bars and restaurants on the ground floor of the development, which is named Holland Park. Moda originally requested permission to build 365 rental homes but the application was altered at the start of the year for the construction of 68 more.

The development has been designed by city based architects HAUS Collective with plans drawn up for four blocks in a square formation and a courtyard in the middle that will be open to the public. Communal residents’ lounges and landscaped rooftop terraces are also included.