Sunderland City Council appoints Stärka on two transformational developments
Stärka, the innovative leisure real estate advisory business co-founded by Sammy Jones and David Bell, has won two high profile instructions from Sunderland City Council that further extend the business’s geographical reach and range of services.
The first of the new roles is as an advisor on the Council’s plans to create a 60,000 sq ft entertainment district in the city centre. Situated on the site of the former Crowtree Leisure Centre, the development is adjacent to Riverside Sunderland, the £1.5bn city centre urban quarter being created on either side of the River Wear.
The new entertainment district will be curated as a large leisure space providing circa 60,000 sq ft, and may include an events space, foodhall, restaurants, and other F&B concepts. Backed by the government’s Future High Streets Fund, the proposals have been conceived to add to the existing attractions in Sunderland’s cultural quarter.
Stärka has also been appointed to advise on the leasing of the leisure space within Sunniside Leisure scheme. The Stärka team will be targeting a blend of national, regional and local operators, creating a diverse offer that will appeal to residents, workers, visitors and the city’s significant student community.
Sammy Jones, Co-Founder of Stärka, commented: “We are delighted to be advising Sunderland City Council on the implementation of its bold vision to transform the city centre. The entertainment district will be a new focal point for Sunderland’s social and cultural economy, and will be the perfect place in which emerging and established F&B and leisure operators can build thriving businesses. The quality, scale, and opportunity the Council is creating are inspiring, and we share the team’s commitment to delivering something truly outstanding for the city.”
Riverside Sunderland covers 32-hectares and will include one million sq ft of modern offices, 1,000 new homes to rent and buy, several civic, public and cultural assets, and the transformation of St Mary’s Boulevard into a stylish new street. The total development is anticipated to double the resident population in the city centre to 5,000 people and create up to 10,000 new jobs.
Since launching in January 2022, Stärka has been instrumental in a large number of significant transactions and re-gears totalling over 600,000 sq ft and secured new clients, including Everyman Cinema, Gravity Active Entertainment, Blacklock, Côte, Bundobust, Oxygen FreeJumping and Bean Coffee. The number of landlord mandates has grown to include Grosvenor, DTZ IM, Schroders, Pradera Lateral and DS Properties. Stärka covers not only the entire UK, but the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.