Harrison Street and Cortland are to develop a 367-home built-to-rent scheme in Watford, Hertfordshire, with backing from Homes England and AIG Asset Management.
Spread over five buildings ranging from four to 24 storeys, the development, to be known as Cortland Cassiobury, will also provide 119 affordable housing units, which have been pre-sold to a registered housing provider.
A mix of one, two and three-bedroom units will be developed alongside amenities including a fitness centre, media room, business centre, residents’ lounge with private dining area, an outdoor patio with grilling stations and fireplaces, a dog park and a reception with concierge.
In addition, 5,150 sq ft of retail space, 314 parking spaces and 50 storage units will be created.
Phase one is due to complete by July 2021, with the rest of the units completed by March 2023.
The scheme is the first for the new joint venture between Harrison Street and Cortland, which has secured a pipeline of BTR projects across the UK and Ireland with a gross development value of £750m.
Robert Mathias, partner and head of international business at Harrison Street, said: “Watford is a highly attractive market, home to a growing, affluent renter population near numerous large employers, but faces a significant undersupply in high-quality rental housing options.
“We look forward to leveraging Cortland’s exceptional UK property development and residential management experience to build the portfolio by identifying and investing in markets backed by strong demographics.”
Paul Wrights, president – Europe at Cortland, added: “We are very grateful to have a like-minded partner in Harrison Street that is focused on delivering exceptional rental housing through a superior customer experience that puts the resident first.”
Gordon More, chief investment officer at Homes England, said: “Helping to bring a company with the build-to-rent credentials of Cortland to the UK is exactly the kind of market-diversifying deal Homes England was created to support”
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