St Modwen, the Blackstone-owned industrial and residential developer in the UK, has developed 190,000 square feet of manufacturing space on an 11.3-acre site in Basingstoke that proved irresistible to a leading green technology occupier, and in turn the CoStar Impact Awards panel reviewing last year's best commercial developments.
The group invested £18.1 million in building three units, all of which were let to LevertonHELM, a joint venture between Leverton Lithium and German chemical business HELM.
Leverton Lithium is a local company, having been founded in Basingstoke more than 45 years ago. It will occupy, as LevertonHELM, the whole of the park, which comprises three warehouses and two retail pods.
About the project: The new buildings, on the former Viables Business Park, come with a range of sustainability features including rainwater harvesting, electric vehicle charging points and photovoltaic solar panels.
The location of the industrial facilities are vital for the area's economic recovery, being next to the M3.
What the judges said: The judges comprised: Hannah McNamara, co-founder, P-Three, Charlie Allen, head of UK real estate, Fiera Real Estate, Jonathan Mannings, founder and MD, Rare Real Estate (RARE), Keith Dowley, founding partner, DTRE, Gianluca Marcato, head of department, real estate and planning, University of Reading.
DTRE's founding partner Keith Dowley said that "securing a local occupier to deliver much needed space that ensures significant investment in new green technologies stays in the town is key in this instance".
P-Three's co-founder P-Three Hannah McNamara added: "The development by St Modwen created buildings with high environmental credentials including rainwater harvesting and EV charging points. It also kept a local company within the area adding to surrounding employment."
They made it happen: Polly Troughton, managing director – logistics, St Modwen; Nick Kay, development director, St Modwen.
