YORK confectionery giant Nestlé is to launch plans for its Cocoa Works development site to developers and investors this week.
Up to 320 homes, as well as offices and shops will be built under proposals which will also create 585 jobs when work starts on the site next to Nestlé’s factory in Haxby Road.
More jobs will follow when the redevelopment is completed, the business has said.
Commercial property agency Alps Commercial will launch the scheme to for developers and investors at The Royal York Hotel tomorrow.
Peter Alcock, chief executive of Alps, said the Cocoa Works, in the Conservation Area between Haxby Road and Wigginton Road, had the right location, heritage and prestige, offering enviable views of the stunning York Minster.
He said: “This is a truly rare and exciting development opportunity in one of the UK’s best loved cities. We have already had a lot of interest in this site and we believe this is an exemplar project for the city and the region.
“Thanks to the partnership Nestlé and its consultants have forged with the city council, the planners will support the creation of a stunning new mixed-use development in which people can work, live and play.”
The 16.75-acre site is mainly cleared ready for development, although it has retained one of the company’s original six-storey manufacturing buildings, which will be converted.
The development will include 166 family homes, 46 apartments, a 55-unit assisted living development, a 100-bed student accommodation unit, eight live/work units, 104,000 sq ft of office accommodation, 10,000 sq ft of retail space, as well as a community centre/gym/creche, community café and the listed Rowntree Memorial Library.
Dave Bruce, Nestlé business services director said the unique location of the project and surrounding areas would enable interaction between residents, businesses, students and visitors on a public and private level.
He said: “We are looking for a developer who will deliver high quality and sustainable urban community buildings.
“We are very excited about the potential impact this site will have on the city from the investment and the hundreds of jobs created.”
Nestlé site offers a unique chance
THE Nestlé Cocoa Works officially go on sale tomorrow.
Potential developers and investors are being invited to the Royal York Hotel to find out more about the 17-acre site.
Outline plans for its development, already approved, include 166 family homes, 46 flats, a retirement community and student accommodation, as well as offices, shops, and a community centre.
The hope is that the development, next to the Nestlé factory in Haxby Road, will create 585 jobs. This is just the kind of development York needs. As with the equally-iconic Terry’s site, the plans involve keeping at least one of the historic factory buildings, and converting it as part of the scheme. There will also be a welcome emphasis on sustainability.
Peter Alcock, of property agency Alps Commercial, says there had been huge interest from potential developers and investors.
“This is a truly rare and exciting development opportunity in one of the UK’s best-loved cities,” he said. Exactly so. It is vitally important that the right developer is found, and that the development is sensitively handled. But this is a wonderful opportunity to give York’s economy a boost, while showcasing yet again what a beautiful, yet also modern and vibrant, city this is.
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