Avison Young acted for Citrus on the funding and is retained to market the new units at the largest speculatively developed industrial unit in the North East for over a decade.

Avison Young acted for Citrus on the funding and is retained to market the new units at the largest speculatively developed industrial unit in the North East for over a decade.

Citrus Durham (“Citrus”) has secured £75M funding to enable the speculative development of circa 650,000 sq ft of new industrial space, to be known as Connect, at the Integra 61 mixed-use project at J61 of the A1(M), Durham. Avison Young and Colliers acted for Citrus Durham on the funding.

Connect will comprise a 342,000 sq ft industrial/logistics development of four high-quality units ranging from 43,000 to 152,000 sq ft. In addition, a 298,000 sq ft stand-alone, 15-metre high bay industrial/warehouse unit will be delivered on an adjacent plot. Connect 298 will be the largest speculatively developed industrial/warehouse unit in the North East for over a decade and will fill a crucial void in the regional supply pipeline.

Avison Young and CBRE will be marketing the new units to potential occupiers, helping to meet the demand for high-quality new build industrial/warehouse accommodation in the region.

GMI Construction has been appointed as contractor for the build and work has started on site with the Connect units ready for occupation in summer next year. The acute shortages of high-quality modern logistics/industrial supply in the North East have been analysed by the Citrus team and the units have been sized to satisfy the growing regional demand for units in this range.

Integra 61 is one of the North East’s most significant regeneration projects with outline consent in place for over 3 million sq ft of employment space with the potential to create some 4,000 jobs. Already home to Amazon’s 2m sq ft Fulfilment Centre, occupiers can choose design and build packages for units to meet their specific requirements, and this speculative phase of development will satisfy those companies looking for space that is already under construction.

Robert Rae, Principal and Managing Director, Industrial at Avison Young, said:
“Connect will provide not only four much-needed mid box units, but also the largest speculative warehouse in the North East for over a decade of 298,000 sq ft.”

David Cullingford, Project Lead for Integra 61 and Citrus, said:
“The funding will accelerate delivery of the next phase of development at Integra 61. 2022 is proving to be an exciting year with lots of activity on-site and we are looking forward to delivering these new speculative units as quickly as possible. We have a real opportunity here to make a significant contribution to the regional pipeline for industrial/logistics accommodation and to ease the well-documented shortages in the North East. This is a thriving region with a superb workforce and businesses, and we hope to bring more jobs and opportunities with this next multi-million pound investment at Integra 61.”

Located at J61 of the A1(M), Integra 61 is just 4 miles away from the City of Durham and will also include circa 270 new homes, 70-bed hotel, family pub/restaurant, nursery, drive-thrus and a number of trade counter/roadside units all adding to the diverse offering.