The purchase of Kirkby town centre cost Knowsley Council £43.8 million.
The local authority revealed the price tag for the town centre in an announcement on Friday, in which it confirmed that regeneration work would begin on December 9.
The deal will see Knowsley Council purchase 87 shops and 12.4 acres of land from developers St Modwen in order to kick-start Kirkby’s long-delayed redevelopment.
Council leader Graham Morgan said: “We have delivered on the commitment we announced a couple of months ago.
“In taking control of Kirkby Town Centre, we are now in a position to be able to bring forward the retail development which our residents need, and which we promised.”
Work can now begin on constructing a new Morrisons supermarket, a petrol station, nine new shops and a cinema.
The council will hope that this is the conclusion of a 20-year saga in which private developers have promised to regenerate the town, only for plans to fall through and companies pull out.
Cllr Morgan said: “We have always been committed to regenerate Kirkby Town Centre and we have shared the frustrations of many of our residents over the years.
“This is the single biggest property investment which the council has ever made and we hope that it sends a strong message to our communities that we are behind them and will do everything we can to deliver the positive changes they want.”
The £43.8 million price tag includes the purchase of the town centre, the construction of the new retail development, stamp duty and other fees.
The council will fund the development by borrowing the initial sum from a variety of sources and then repaying the loan from rental income and the eventual sale of some of the land.
Redeveloping the town centre is expected to provide 500 permanent jobs in the town centre and boost the local economy by £15.3 million per year. The council also predicts it will gain another £650,000 annually in business rates.
Although the council is driving the development, the work will be delivered by St Modwen and its contractor GMI, with £20.7 million of the total price going towards the new retail development.
