It’s not quite as straight forward as Kevin Costner would lead you to believe, but Newport is starting to look like the Field of Dreams for many in the commercial property development and investment sector at the moment, says Justin Kingdon, of CNC Property Fund Management, Newport…

Those who never lost faith in the city and those who identified the true great investment potential Newport has to offer are set to reap the rewards for such ambition and devotion.

No too dissimilar to many towns and cities across Wales, Newport had suffered from the all too familiar property development predicament of ‘let’s wait and see who goes first’.

Coupled with the recession, the wait was perhaps a bit longer than we would have hoped.

Now, though, it looks as if the waiting game is over and the floodgates to the city’s success are well and truly opened with many exciting and high-value developments completed, under way and soon to be launched.

Of course, huge credit has to be placed at the door of Sir Terry Matthews and Newport City Council for bidding for and successfully hosting both the Ryder Cup and Nato Summit.

These great events not only catapulted Newport onto the world stage, but for the city’s potential developers they laid the path to massive infrastructure improvements and interest from national occupiers looking for space in Wales. This positive impact is now paying off.

The list of live schemes in the city currently rank Newport as one of ‘busiest”’in terms of development in the UK.

The £100m Friars Walk retail and leisure scheme, the £70m international convention centre at The Celtic Manor Resort, Admiral’s £20m office development and St Modwen’s 4,000 home scheme at GlanLlyn would individually be ‘big ticket’ developments anywhere in the UK, yet all are on our doorstep.

The success of the uncompleted developments will, of course, need to be analysed over time, however with Queensberry already 65 per cent let at Friars Walk and commercial property values and rents rising quickly, early signs of success are visible now.

No doubt footfall to these developments will also be successful with the huge catchment population, giving the daytime and evening economies a boost.

This confidence is infectious and the buzz Newport is creating in the UK property’s sector is tangible, with many buildings that have been left unloved for years being snapped up for refurbishment or redevelopment, with many being pre-sold or let to a selection of local and national occupiers.

These exciting schemes include Imperial Developments’ schemes at Shire Hall and the former Kings Hotel, where Jahan Abedi’s company is creating exciting high-quality residential and mixed-use commercial developments out of what were seen as difficult and complex listed buildings.

In the same vein, Richard Hayward Properties has also spotted the true potential in the city and is currently converting the grade II listed former Yates Wine Lodge on High Street in to a 60-bedroom hotel for Premier Inn and has recently announced the letting of 23,000 sq ft of retail space to Sports Direct at Olympia House.

This news provides a welcome boost for anyone fearing the demise of the retail footprint outside of Friars Walk.

A vital ingredient in any city’s successful development and evolvement is the inclusion of city centre living and encouraging people to live, work, shop and play in the city.

Property investors and developers alike are busy focusing on this with a number of schemes in the pipeline.

As part of the development of Olympia House, the upper floors are set to become residential apartments, as are upper floor sections of Cambrian Road, Upper Dock Street and Commercial Street.

There is also talk of the upper floors of Clarence House on Clarence Place being converted.

One of the hottest development sites of the moment which will hopefully continue to encourage city centre living is the former Sainsbury’s site on Shaftsbury Street, which is only a stones throw away from the heart of the city has great potential to boost a thriving city living culture.

I cannot recall a time where so much positive interest has been focused on Newport from investors, developers, agents and the media, with even the BBC making a recent appearance and, from what we hear, there is even more exciting news to come.

There clearly appears to be demand from both commercial occupiers and people wanting to live in the city centre, so we hope that the supply of these quality developments can keep pace to accommodate this demand.

Picture caption: Field of Dreams: Justin Kingdom, of CNC Property Fund Managment