There are big plans in place for a huge unit in Birkenhead town centre that previously housed JD Sports, and is the current home to TK Maxx, Barclays and New Look.
The 117,000 sq ft building on Grange Road, which has vacant office space on the first and second floors, has been bought by an investment firm, it's been announced this week.
GAPE Equity Limited will now set about transforming those upper floors into "high-spec" one and two-bedroom flats.
The firm says Birkenhead "has a lot going for it", and added that the "provisional plan" is to fill the three empty shop units on the ground floor with commercial tenants.
It's not yet known which shops or businesses will occupy the units, one of which was held by JD Sports before it moved into one of the larger units across the street, opening next to HSBC in March 2018.
Arran Bailey, managing director of Gape Equity, says he has carried out "exactly this kind of project before".
He added: “We’re well accustomed to the development of dual-purpose buildings, with residential flats on the upper floors and commercial operations at street level – so this new acquisition in Birkenhead dovetails very nicely with our key area of expertise.
“As the Wirral’s primary town, just a stone’s throw from Liverpool, Birkenhead has a lot going for it. It has all the transport links you could want, allied to lots of footfall for local businesses and plenty of appeal as a place to live.”
The news comes as regeneration in Birkenhead continues to gather pace.
In February, it was announced Wirral Council had bought the Vue Cinemas building for £7.1m, in a move hoped to create a "stream of income" for the authority.
It was revealed last year that the cinema purchase formed part of a "master plan" for the rebirth of Birkenhead - one of Merseyside's most challenged town centres.
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That plan is aimed at transforming the town, and creating thousands of new jobs under proposals by the Wirral Growth Company , and a wide-ranging project for the Europa Boulevard site.
Nottingham-based investment company Gape Equity has become "well-known" for regenerating urban buildings in the midlands, and wants to bring "fresh commercial and residential options to the centre of Birkenhead".
The firm has reportedly completed similar projects in Nottingham and Derby, and Mr Bailey said he believes the building’s location, on a pedestrianised corner of St John Street and Grange Road - adjacent to Birkenhead’s Pyramids Shopping Centre, is also a "plus".
