Macquarie Asset Management launched its UK Build to Rent platform – Goodstone Living – in June 2021. The specialist real estate development and investment management business was established to capitalise on a significant market opportunity in the UK’s purpose-built rental housing sector.
Goodstone Living has now acquired its first Build to Rent development site – known as Camp Hill Gardens – in central Birmingham. The four-acre consented scheme is expected to deliver 500 new Build to Rent homes and the largest private garden.
The site has been acquired from Eutopia Homes, a private developer with schemes in Salford and Exeter. In March, the company obtained planning consent for a mix of residential and commercial uses, designed by award-winning architects Darling Associates.
“We are delighted that Goodstone Living has backed our vision for Digbeth, a key growth area within Birmingham. Goodstone’s vision will help forge an exciting new community that offers a different type of rental proposition for a fast-growing, young market.
“While we have seen significant investment in the area since we acquired the site in 2018 with Chenavari Investment Managers, we believe that the future regeneration prospects for Digbeth are second to none – a passion shared by the Goodstone team.”
Scott Hammond, Founder and CEO, Eutopia Homes
The Camp Hill Gardens scheme is in Birmingham’s thriving creative quarter of Digbeth – described as the ‘coolest’ neighbourhood by The Sunday Times. Goodstone Living plans to transform the site into a thriving rental community – integrating innovation, sustainability, wellbeing and customer service.
Residents at Camp Hill Gardens will have access to a range of amenities – 22,000 sq ft of high-quality shared amenity space including rooftop terraces with unique skyline views over Birmingham, an onsite gym and co-working areas. In keeping with Digbeth’s live-work-play ethos, Goodstone Living has designed the site to feature dedicated commercial and retail space, which will be offered at a 50% discount to promote local businesses.
This next generation Build to Rent development is just a short walk from the Bullring Shopping Centre and Birmingham New Street Station, as well as Birmingham’s HS2 station at Curzon Street. The centrally located site also has convenient access to transport connections, with bus, cycle, rail and metro networks on its doorstep.
Camp Hill Gardens will be sustainably built with a +50% reduction in operational carbon and a +30% reduction in embodied carbon when compared with current building regulations. The new development will be arranged around over an acre of private gardens, complemented with additional terraces, green spaces and more spacious homes.
“Our strategy is focused on long-term value creation and this requires us to be able to identify significant regeneration opportunities where demographics and cultural shifts are occurring to transform areas in need of new housing.
“As the UK’s second largest city by population, Birmingham benefits from a large and growing pool of potential residents demanding high-quality, purpose-built and professionally managed rental accommodation. This makes Birmingham the perfect place for our first development project, and we look forward to transforming Camp Hill Gardens into a vibrant residential community, while also celebrating Digbeth’s rich industrial heritage.”
Martin Bellinger, Principal, Goodstone Living
