The second phase will see a 519 en-suite student bedrooms built in three buildings, one rising to 10 storeys. An additional 8,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail space will also be created, providing an active frontage onto Heber Street.
The construction arm of property group Downing will build the £30 million student village at the site, adjacent to St James’ Park football ground and bounded by Wellington Street and Heber Street.
The student village will be located next to 135,000 sq ft of offices and teaching space, which has been pre-let by Newcastle University Business School in a record deal for the city’s property market.
Paul Houghton, director at Downing, said: “There’s a clear demand for high quality student accommodation in Newcastle city centre and Downing Plaza will deliver a safe, fit-for-purpose student cluster in the heart of the city.
Downing Plaza is regenerating a key, four-acre site in Gallowgate, with six iconic buildings designed by architects Ian Simpson.
Future phases of the £200m scheme will include an extra 100,000 sq ft of offices, two hotels – a 183-bed hotel and 102 serviced apartments – and extensive retail space.