Wavensmere’s £23m Rental Building at Nightingale Quarter, Derby 80% Let
Wavensmere Homes’ £23m rental apartment building at Nightingale Quarter in Derby city centre is 80% let in only five months. Rents for the 103 one- and two-bedroom apartments within the recently opened Walton House start from £1,000 pcm.
The five-storey red brick building has been fully furnished to a premium specification by national interior design company Project Furniture Residential. Derby Estate Agent Ashley Adams is tasked with letting the brand new homes.
Located on London Road, between the Florence Nightingale Community Hospital and the Nightingale Quarter residents’ gymnasium, the final apartment block within the £175m city centre regeneration scheme took 18 months to construct. In total, the 18.5-acre development incorporates 125 family houses and 800 apartments, together with an extensive range of community amenities. The Florence Nightingale-designed former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary had lain derelict for a decade prior to Wavensmere Homes’ acquisition and start on site in 2019.
Donna Smith, sales director of Wavensmere Homes, said: “Nightingale Quarter has been incredibly popular on the rental market, with a new standard being set for quality city living in Derby. Walton House is achieving top rents, due to the professionally styled and furnished interiors, city views, parcel storage facility, EV car charging, and close proximity to Derby train station and all the shops and attractions. This is in the context of the city being underserved by stylish apartment schemes, when compared to so many other regional cities.”
Prior to the opening of Walton House, Wavensmere experienced earlier success with Hardwick House – its first rental building at Nightingale Quarter. The 52 one and two-bedroom apartments are also professionally designed and furnished to a high specification and fully let out.
Donna Smith continued: “Nightingale Quarter is a landmark legacy project and we always set out to invest for the long-term, alongside our customers. The added advantage of this strategy is that our ongoing ownership of Hardwick and Walton House makes us even more invested in the long-term legacy of the entire site.
“Renting directly from us has become a natural stepping stone to owning a Wavensmere home. Hardwick House and Walton House are giving vying first time buyers a chance to try before they buy, whether that’s at Nightingale Quarter, or our other Derby developments – Friar Gate Goods Yard, Milford Mills and the upcoming Cathedral One scheme.”
All residents at Nightingale Quarter have access to the residents’ indoor and outdoor gymnasiums, large co-working facility, and can also make the most of the community garden, children’s play area and running track around the circumference of the 18.5-acre development. The award-winning, critically acclaimed Pepperpot restaurant is within one of two 19th Century buildings, which Wavensmere saved from demolition and painstakingly restored.
Walton House features solar PV roof panels with battery storage, to enable the green energy generated on site to be captured and used to power a proportion of the building’s electricity use. 7kW EV chargers and rapid charge bays are also installed into the new building, enabling residents of the 79 one-bed and 24 two-bedroom apartments to minimise their carbon footprint.
James Dickens, managing director of Wavensmere Homes, said: “When we acquired this vacant site in 2019, we set out to design a landmark scheme that embraced the DE1 location and didn’t turn its back on the city centre. We are proud that Nightingale Quarter’s 925 new homes have transformed the city living market, acting as the catalyst for thousands more to be delivered within central Derby.
“By installing new footpaths, cycle routes, roads, co-working space, a gym – and making a restaurant Nightingale Quarter’s new focal point – this redundant hospital site is once again a vibrant community asset. The popularity of our two retained rental buildings with discerning tenants is the ultimate success story.”
A fully furnished show home is available to view at Walton House by appointment, accessed off 128 London Road, Derby DE1 2QQ. For further information, call 01564 781453, or email info@wavensmere.co.uk
