Ceremony held as West Bar development hits milestone

A ceremony has been held to mark the milestone of a new development at Sheffield’s West Bar.

The development includes an office building consisting of 100,000 square meters of office space and two residential towers of 368 apartments built for rent.

The event was attended by senior Sheffield City Council officials, developers Urbo (West Bar) Ltd and investors Legal and General.

Legal and General have so far invested £150m in the scheme.

Peter Swallow, Managing Director at Urbo, said: “We are delighted to reach this significant milestone at West Bar Sheffield, which is a strategically important regeneration project for the city. Indeed, it is an integral part of the transformation plan for Sheffield city centre, expanding its main core and bringing forward much-needed new space for commercial and residential accommodation.”

In total, the development will have six office buildings, two residential buildings, one commercial space and a multi-storey car park built upon completion.

Kate Josephs, Chief Executive at Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield needs high-quality, energy-efficient retail and office space, so it’s great to see this development close to completion. West Bar is a prime example of what can be achieved through a strong partnership between the public and private sectors.”

Development plans have been in place since before 2008, when the recession forced a change in plans.

Mr Swallow said: “In the original scheme it was all residential shots of high-rise, high-density buildings built around the theme.

“After the financial crisis it just wasn’t marketed, there wasn’t a market for it in Sheffield or probably anywhere else in the UK.

“What there was was a big gap in the Sheffield market for large office space that Sheffield didn’t have, which is what we’re doing now.”

The next building to be constructed will be the development’s multi-storey car park, which consists of 450 parking spaces and provides approximately 300 spaces for bicycle storage and charging points for electric cars.

The West Bar development is one of a number of large developments currently being built in Sheffield, such as the 1.5 million sq ft Heart of the City project.