Southampton Toys R Us site: development agreement amended

An agreement over the development of Southampton's former Toys R Us site has been amended to allow work to progress.

The Maritime Gateway scheme for 600 build-to-rent flats was approved by the city council in 2022.

A development agreement with leaseholder Packaged Living was due to lapse this summer as building work had not begun.

The council's cabinet approved an extension and alteration to the commercial terms.

A cabinet report said the development on Western Esplanade remained important for the "good growth" of the city centre and not extending would have meant a new development negotiation at "significant time and cost".

The report said developers had faced "macroeconomic challenges" such as high interest rates, inflation and supply chain issues.

These factors had made it difficult to meet the conditions of the agreement by the initial deadline of June 2024, it said.

The report said the developer had seen "positive trends" this year which would support the delivery of the project.

Under the new agreement, the local authority would "continue to actively monitor and support progress towards delivery of the scheme".

The Toys R Us building has sat derelict since the retailer's collapse in 2018, apart from being used to store donations for Ukraine in March 2022.

Packaged Living's plans for the land involve demolishing the store, levelling the site and building four blocks between seven and 25 storeys.

A fifth eight-storey building could be included in the development, but its use is yet to be decided.

The scheme also featured cafes, shops and an office block as well as a new pedestrian route, International Maritime Promenade, which would link Southampton Central Railway Station and the waterfront.

Packaged Living and the council signed the development agreement in December 2021, seven months after the London-based developer acquired the leasehold interest of the site.

The site is part of the council's Mayflower Quarter, which involves a long-term redevelopment of land between Central Station and the waterfront.

All 100 Toys R Us stores closed in the UK in 2018 after the company fell into administration.

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