An article I recently posted on here highlighted the buildings on High Street South that were empty and some that had planning permission for redevelopment but nothing had happened yet. Today the new owners of the old Woolworths building walked into my shop to ask about Dunstable as an area, how well properties were renting, what type of tenants were likely to be attracted to the new apartments and also what the potential was for the sale of the apartments once the development is complete.
It might seem strange to some that the developers came into a Letting Agent and discussed sales, but what they were looking for was advice and knowledge about the area and property values and once we started talking they realised that my knowledge extended much further than how much a property will rent for and how quickly. My architectural background of 27 years means that I have an interest in the entire property market and what new developments are happening and the values of in both sales and lettings.
The old Woolworths site they have purchased went to auction and didn’t reach its reserve price which was much less than a local agent had been advertising it for previously. A deal was done after the auction and now I‘m pleased to see that at long last this empty building will be redeveloped and put to good use for both residential and smaller retail units.
Planning permission is for the Demolition of the existing 2 storey building to provide a mixed use development comprising commercial use on the ground floor (Retail class A1) and 26 residential units on 3 upper floors, with associated parking, access, and landscaping and permission was granted April 2015.
I’m looking forward to working with these guys in the future and seeing this part of Dunstable being brought back into use which will hopefully encourage the owners of the other nearby empty buildings to do the same.
