Hundreds of homes for rent could be built in Hove

Developers have revealed the £220m plans for the site next to Hove station, and said it could be one of the largest build-to-rent schemes on the south coast.

The project could create a ‘highly-connected and walkable garden community’ with low and mid-rise buildings and areas of green space, developers said.

Plans for the site also include health and wellbeing facilities, barbecue roof terraces, bicycle rental, virtual sports simulators, semi-private gardens, a car club and resident allotments.

Developers said as well as making homes energy efficient, there will a 24-hour concierge, while the ‘MyModa’ app will allow customers to report faults, managing their rental account, let friends in, order a laundry service or book childcare on their phones.

Developers said phase one is likely to consist 600 ‘build to rent’ homes and 10,000sqft of co-working space, although it said the nine-acre site could take up to 860 homes.

LaSalle Investment Management selected Moda, an owner and operator of private rented housing, and Apache Capital, the private real estate investment management firm, as partners in the joint venture.

A previous application across part of the site for a retail-led scheme was granted approval in March 2010, but a drop in the market for retail space made the scheme unviable, developers said.

Tony Brooks, managing director at Moda, said: “Our ambition is to create rental communities that thread neatly into the fabric of their surroundings across the UK while offering something far beyond what is currently available.

“The design and layout, together with the amenity and service offering, will set a new standard for rental living in Brighton and Hove. This new development will be perfect for the changing, evermore flexible lives people lead today, and will allow residents to live, work, shop and play in a community where they feel connected to the whole place not just their individual homes.”

Moda and Apache Capital is building more than 6,000 rent-only homes in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.

Richard Jackson, co-founder and managing director of Apache Capital Partners, said: “This transformational scheme in Brighton and Hove is one of the leading build-to-rent schemes on the South Coast and the tenth site to be secured by Apache Capital and Moda. This acquisition takes our JV (joint venture) pipeline to over 6,000 apartments, making us one of the largest build-to-rent platforms in the UK.

“Brighton and Hove has seen considerable population and economic growth in recent years and this landmark site is a great fit for Apache Capital’s strategy of continuing to focus on intergenerational real estate investments in great, prime locations in UK cities where there is a significant and growing supply/demand imbalance for high quality private rented housing. We’re building great homes and communities that people aspire to live in.”

Andrew Derry, development director at ‎LaSalle Investment Management: “This is an excellent opportunity for the viable redevelopment of a site that we have been assembling and looking to redevelop for over ten years. We anticipate that this will provide high-quality housing for the local area in this well-connected community where developments of this nature are desperately needed.

“We are delighted to be working with Moda, Apache and Brighton and Hove City Council to realise this exciting regeneration opportunity.”

Early design proposals are set to be released in September.