The work will remove existing defunct buildings at the former home of Black & Decker in Spennymoor, making way for a vital new boulevard, which will form part of major highways upgrades.
The main hub of the 60 acre Durham Gate site, as well as the first tranche of new office space, will also be developed on the area currently being cleared.
Demolition is scheduled to finish at the end of the year, allowing work to start on the new purpose-built headquarters for Sedgefield Borough Homes, the county’s largest registered social housing provider. Work on the highways will begin in January.
Durham Gate is being developed in partnership by Carillion Developments and Arlington Real Estate.
The site will house around 440,000 sq ft of high quality office space, a new hotel and a local centre with a mix of amenities. In addition around 400 new homes will be built.
Ian Beaumont, project director at Durham Gate, said: “Not only will we soon see the start of building work on the new sbh development, but the highways work, which will provide significant improvements to the wider local road network, is now set to begin in January.
“The work on the highways will include upgrading the roads and increasing the size of the main roundabout on the A167 and A688, helping to boost traffic capacity in an area which has suffered from congestion for a number of years.
“This is part of a wider legacy that this first phase will leave, not only for users of Durham Gate, but for those who live and work in the wider locality.”