The Park Hill redevelopment is an award-winning joint venture between Urban Splash and Places for People. Ongoing now for a number of years, the city has been able to track its redevelopment and regeneration as the building dominates the city skyline – but it is as much about how the new community of residents and workers inhabit the place than its appearance. Perspectives and demands for how we want to live now have changed – we live where we work and we work where we live.
Park Hill seems to be able to provide all this
A quick summary of how far the development has come. There are 5 Phases to the project and so far, Phase 1 and Phase 3 are complete and occupied with Phase 2 on the imminent horizon this Autumn. At the moment, over 1,000 people live and work at Park Hill, soon to be joined by another 500 plus residents and workers, who will become part of this established community.
Summary of development to date
Phase 1 includes 260 homes and contemporary workspaces that are occupied with creative and digital businesses including Warp Films, Kada Research, Human, Puckatoor and Airship, plus the first café at Park Hill, South Street Kitchen, that has proved a great success with residents and the local community since opening in March 2018. There’s also the local authority-run, purpose-built Grace Owen Nursery that has been based onsite since 1963 and relocated to their new premises in Phase 1 in 2016.
Phase 2 has sold 175 of the 195 homes available and over 70% of the mixed-use commercial space that can accommodate offices, as well as retail and leisure operators.
Phase 3 is unique student accommodation with the block being configured into 4 & 8 bed townhouses, 2 & 4 bed apartments and classic studios for 356 students. The development partner is the Alumno Group and Places for People who have named it Béton House. Soon to join will be Park Hill’s first convenience store, Park Hill Provisions, which will be based on the former site of the Parkway Tavern and is due to be open by the end of October.
During the various lockdowns many have been working at home at Park Hill.
Jonathan is a Senior Advisor for the Environment Agency currently renting in Phase 1 but buying in Phase 2. He has become an active member of the residents’ community helping to coordinate social events, litter picks and more. Before COVID he split his time between offices in Sheffield and Leeds and now works from home much of the time.
Jonathan works from his living room which, due to the nature of the design, is spacious with plenty of light from the large windows overlooking the landscaped area of Phase 1.
He says: “Park Hill was and has been a good place to work from. What works for me is to keep a work routine from 9am-5pm and, as we have plenty of green space around even though Park Hill is in the city centre, I’ll walk up to South Street Park and onto the Norfolk Heritage Park or up to the Cholera Monument – these last 18 months have given me the opportunity to explore my immediate neighbourhood. I am also close to city centre amenities, so I can pop out for errands on my lunch break being only a 5-minute walk from the post office or a supermarket.
“I have been renting here for two years and have therefore tried and tested Park Hill; I also experienced living here pre-COVID. I aspired to be an architect when I was younger but never got closer than a fortnight’s work experience at school; however, that appreciation of buildings has never left me. I always pictured my first property purchase to be a house, but Park Hill ticks all the boxes and these homes feel more substantial and better designed. The location is ideal as I don’t have a car and rely on public transport. I also didn’t want to give up the views I have already, and that’s why I was so keen to buy the new place. The views are stunning – it’s great how animated the city is from up here and there are some spectacular sunsets. I believe I have the best of both worlds: the city, surrounding trees and hills and then that big sky. The current situation has changed the way everyone approaches work and I feel fortunate to feel secure and comfortable with my home working environment.”
There are a limited number of homes still available in Phase 2 as part of the Government Help to Buy scheme. This is an Equity Loan from the Government for up to 20% of the cost of a property up to the value of £228K, requiring a 5% cash deposit and a 75% mortgage for the remaining amount. No fees are charged on the 20% loan for the first five years.
Guy Ackernley, on behalf of the joint-venture, said: “Prospective buyers are attracted to the huge communal gardens, spectacular views and the large windows. The Help to Buy option gives the opportunity for a wider group of people on a range of incomes to live at Park Hill. It’s great to see such a strong community at Park Hill that is so vibrant and diverse, and we can’t wait to welcome more residents and businesses in the coming year.”
S1 Artspace made Park Hill their new home in 2016 with artist studios and an exhibition programme that has attracted national recognition, attracting visitors from far afield as well a regular local audience. Their current exhibition is called ‘Park Hill Pavillion’: following a residency at S1 Artspace earlier this year, architecture students from the University of Sheffield embarked on a process of research, consultation, experimentation and design to develop three alternative proposals for the first temporary pavilion at Park Hill.
S1 is inviting visitors in person or online to see the design proposals and have their say on their preferred pavilion. The feedback will help steer a final design that will be developed and constructed at Park Hill later this year by Sheffield-based architectural practice OS31.
There is also a newly commissioned 3D virtual tour that moves throughout the exhibition to view the three pavilion design proposals, alongside the project’s research, development and experiments with reclaimed materials by the Sheffield School of Architecture.
Park Hill Help to Buy is coordinated through Homes England. For more information on Help to Buy contact the sales team at Park Hill on 0114 303 0375 or email live@urbansplash.co.uk / DavidLewus@urbansplash.co.uk. For any commercial enquiries, please contact space @urbansplash.co.uk or 0333 666 0000
