Capital&Centric’s masterplan takes leap forward

Social impact developer Capital&Centric has announced an acquisition that unlocks the next the next phase of their 10 year ‘Mesters’ Village’ masterplan.

The area has been a focus for the developer over the past five years, having completed the neighbouring Eyewitness Works conversion, the restoration of the Ceylon Building, and the creation of the Brunswick building too.

Located adjacent to Sheffield’s Devonshire Quarter, the project in Mesters’ Village, called Fitzwilliam is the latest site to come forward in the 15-acre masterplan.

In 2019 they announced their reimagined vision for this part of the city centre, setting out a plan for how it could develop over the next 5-10 years, with over 2,500 homes, makers spaces, café bars, delis and a nursery.

Well known for their transformation of some of the North’s most stunning historic buildings, Capital&Centric even tempted Channel 4 to the city, with Eyewitness Works featuring weekly on The Big Interiors Battle fronted by AJ Odudu last year.

This new project announcement in the city will see the site on Fitzwilliam Street site cleared and transformed into around 200 new-build homes, roads pedestrianised and the creation of new public squares, with ground floor spaces for businesses and the community to hang out.

Capital&Centric had previously acquired a large site within the masterplan area. The latest deal for the developer to acquire the remaining site from Sheffield City Council was approved by the Council’s Finance Committee today, paving the way for the team to work up detailed designs for the scheme ahead of submitting a planning application next year.

The design will take inspiration from adjacent Eyewitness Works and Ceylon Building – a historic Grade II listed cutlery works which has been restored into a new rental community alongside industrial-style apartments in accompanying new build Brunswick.

Mark Edwards, Development Director at Capital&Centric, said:

“Our Eyewitness Works project and the surrounding buildings has been the trailblazer, bringing a new community of renters to this part of the city. Fitzwilliam is the next chapter, where we’re taking an unloved brownfield site and growing the Mesters’ Village neighbourhood.

“We’ve always had big plans for this area and our completed developments in the area so far has proved that there’s huge demand for beautifully designed, high-quality apartments. Sheffield is really having its moment and we’re looking forward to working with the city council to deliver another standout community.”

It's the developer’s fourth project in the Devonshire Quarter, following on from the neighbouring transformation of the historic Eyewitness Works and Ceylon Works and new-build Brunswick development. They are as also working on plans for the former Cannon Brewery site that were consented last July in the Neepsend area of the city, which was name checked in The Sunday Times Best Places to live guide in 2023.

The developer also recently announced their biggest project to date – the delivery of 2,000 homes to make up the UK’s largest new town, Northstowe in Cambridgeshire.

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