Chic urban living is coming to Reading with the opening of the Chatham Place apartments in the town centre.
Chatham Place is a £250 million mixed use regeneration project. The first phase will comprise 211 private apartments, each designed to encompass the atmosphere of city centre living: large open living areas; modular kitchens; sleek bathrooms. Most apartments will have balconies, while a private garden for residents gives a modern twist to the traditional town square.
Chatham Place is a development by Muse Developments in partnership with Reading Borough Council. It is the biggest new development underway in Reading and will feature high end shops and cafes, an underground car park and extensive areas of open space. The development will provide a new urban quarter and is part of the strategic vision, Reading City 2020, to expand the city centre, in this case to the west.
Catie Evans, residential sales director at Muse Developments, said: "We are setting a new benchmark for apartments in Reading and are really excited about the design and quality we are offering home buyers in the town."
Charles Buckley, associate director of Hamptons International, added: "Reading is changing. A combination of value for money and easy access to London is making Reading hot property for investors and owner occupiers."
Reading is the capital of the Thames Valley Economic Region. Many international companies are based in the town, which has some of the finest high tech business parks in the south east. Reading's Oracle centre has 90 top name shops, while the Riverside mall boasts stylish restaurants and bars, and a ten screen cinema. Transport links to Reading are excellent: the M4 is close by, and Reading to London Paddington takes just 22 minutes.
The marketing suite has a full apartment set in it, showing a typical living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Visitors will be able to see a computer generated flythrough of Chatham Place, illustrating how the finished development will look.
One bedroom apartments start from £170,000 and two bedroom apartments from £228,000. The marketing suite is open daily from 11am to 6pm.
Hamptons International and Haslams have been appointed selling agents. Contact 0118 959 7185. www.chathamplace.co.uk.
Chatham Place
1. Chatham Place is a £250m privately funded development in partnership with landowner Reading Borough Council. Construction started in May 2006 with completion of the car park in October 2007. Final completion of Phase one is schedule May 2009.
2. In November 2005 Muse Developments (previously AMEC) was granted detailed planning permission for the first phase of the 4.5 ha (11 acre) scheme and outline permission for future phases. The completed development will comprise 450 residential apartments, 33,295 m2 of commercial development, a hotel, and public car park, 3,500 m2 of ground floor retail outlets as well as public open space and highway enhancements.
3. The first phase is primarily residential with 211 one and two bedroom apartments for private sale and 96 one and two bedroom key worker and shared ownership apartments built for Catalyst Communities Housing Association. There will also be a 590 space public car park to be operated by Q-Park. At ground level there will be 500m2 for community facilities together with 437 m2 of local retailing. There will extensive areas of new streetscape and public realm providing a valuable addition to this part of Reading. This phase is scheduled for completion at the May 2009.
4. Outline planning approval has been granted for the second phase of Chatham Place, which feature decking over the A329 Inner Distribution Road and thereby creating a new city square, allowing the existing town centre to expand and creating a new and substantial business quarter.
Muse Developments
Muse Developments was formed in July 2007 by Morgan Sindall plc, following its acquisition of the AMEC group’s property development business, AMEC Developments.
Muse is involved in more than 30 development projects with a total area in excess of 20 million square feet and with an end value of over £3.7 billion. The company has also been selected for projects worth a further £1 billion, bringing the total portfolio to 25 million square feet of mixed use space.
Muse Developments is also an active shareholder in Isis Waterside Regeneration, a development vehicle created in partnership with British Waterways and Igloo Regeneration to unlock the potential of the nation's waterways
For further information contact:
Julie Stockton
Muse Developments
07974 375305