HBD has announced the conditional sale of a two-acre development site at The Chocolate Works in York to McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities.
HBD and McCarthy Stone began their partnership in 2019, working together to promote the site through the planning process. In March 2024, they successfully achieved planning consent on appeal for a 72-home Retirement Living PLUS scheme.
HBD will now collaborate with McCarthy Stone to finalize site preparations, with completion expected in Q4 2024. Following this, McCarthy Stone will solely lead the development of the purpose-built retirement accommodation.
This new retirement community represents the final phase of HBD’s award-winning 27-acre development, which included transforming the former 160,000 sq ft Terry’s Chocolate Factory into 163 premium apartments. Over the past decade, the project has delivered a total GDV of £110 million across seven schemes. The wider site also hosts the Brainkind Neurological Centre, supporting people recovering from complex brain injuries.
Tim Roberts, CEO of Henry Boot, commented: “Securing planning permission and agreeing the sale to McCarthy Stone of the last remaining land site at The Chocolate Works will bring much needed retirement living in York, helping address the huge demand for specialist retirement accommodation that exists right across the country. By adding retirement accommodation, which will also offer tailored levels of care, alongside the residential and other uses we have developed at the site, helps achieve our goal of creating a deep and multi-generational community at this transformed former factory. In addition, it brings HBD’s award winning work on this significant project to a close while representing a strong outcome for our shareholders.”