A major part of the Coventry city centre is to be given a new lease of life as the Council is set to approve the sale of several buildings to Coventry University.
A meeting of the Full Council on February 24 is set to approve the sale of Civic Centres 1, 2, 3 and 4 – which border the new Council House Square in Little Park Street.
The move has been made possible as the Council looks to move from several sites around the city to new central offices at the Friargate Development, which is transforming the area around the railway station and creating a new business quarter.
For the University it is the latest step in an ongoing development which has seen it named as one of the top in the country and student numbers soar.
It plans to demolish the current Council buildings and create a new headquarters and an International Centre, along with research and commercial areas. There will also be some short term accommodation units.
The University has also said it is interested in buying the shops in Earl Street and the flats above to include that area in the new development.
Councillor Kevin Maton, Chair of Business, Enterprise and Employment at the City Council, said: “The Council is heading for a new future at Friargate, which will help revitalise that part of the city, and now we have assured a great new future for the sites we are leaving behind.
The new Council House Square and the plans Coventry University has for the area will mean it continues to play a vital part in city life and that it is enjoyed by students, visitors and university staff for years to come.
The University is committed to investing between £100m and £125m in the site over the next five years, and in doing so they will be generating about £100m a year for the city’s economy through this new development from 2020.
The city is in for some exciting times ahead with developments like Friargate and with the growth of the University.”
The University agreed in principle to buy the sites last year and officials have been meeting with the Council to prepare a plan on how the area will be developed.
The new square has transformed the area, cutting back on traffic and freeing up space for pedestrians, and the University sees it as a key ‘front door’.
Councillors will hear that the University will now buy the land and lease it back to the Council at a peppercorn rate until autumn 2017 when the Council has finished its move to Friargate and work can begin.
Other Council buildings set for a new future are Christchurch House and Spire House, off New Union Street, which are to be transformed into a new leisure pool and a new Customer Services Centre is being created at Broadgate House.
