Sunderland brings former Nightingale Centre to market

A highly-advanced manufacturing facility in Sunderland is on the market and set to return to its intended use after serving as the North East's Nightingale Hospital.

A Sunderland City Council-owned facility, Unit 6, which stands on International Drive at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park - a development that spans Sunderland and South Tyneside - will be vacated by April 2022, meaning it will be ready for a new occupier by summer. 

The 124,976 sq ft detached facility was constructed to a high specification, with the original intention of housing training facilities to boost the region's role in the electrification of the automotive industry.  However, the NHS's use of the space for the last 18 months means the building will now be leased, with training centres now on the doorstep at another council-owned facility adjacent to Nissan's plant. 

The well-located building - on a full secure site, that is well connected to major spine roads and just minutes from Nissan - includes significant factory floor space, warehousing accommodation, as well as 27,000 sq ft of Grade A open-plan offices on the ground and first floor.  The factory floor features two 15T gantry cranes, 75kn sq m floor loading capacity and seven loading doors, and outside, there are 300 car parking spaces and 12 EV charging points. 

Located to the North of the IAMP development, which is home to French car parts business SNOP and Japanese tier one supplier Faltec, Unit 6 was completed in 2020, but quickly converted into a Nightingale Facility before ever being used as a manufacturing facility.  It will stand alongside Envision AESC's new Gigafactory - planning permission for which was granted earlier this year - which is a cornerstone of Nissan 36Zero EV Hub, a £1bn new eco-system that puts Sunderland at the heart of Europe's electric revolution.

The building will be returned to an empty shell, as the NHS winds down the temporary facilities that were set up to ensure the resilience of health services during the pandemic.  Unit 6 has been a core regional vaccination centre since January 2021, with more than 220,000 vaccinations having been administered from the building to date. 

Peter McIntyre, executive director of city development at Sunderland City Council, said: "We're pleased to be bringing this exceptional building to the market.  Having supported the national effort to tackle Coronavirus, it is now set to boost the region's economic health by driving forward IAMP, a nationally significant development and part of a wider network of automotive hubs in the city.

"It's an impressive space and we look forward to seeing it in use in the New Year."

The building - just 0.5 miles from the A19, which connects to the A1 which is just 5.5 miles away - enjoys close connectivity to Port of Sunderland and Port of Tyne and is being jointly marketed by HTA Real Estate and Avison Young. 

To arrange a viewing, contact Simon Hill or Nick Atkinson at HTA on 07855 834 467 or simon@htare.co.uk, 07950 319 060 or nick@htare.co.uk or contact Danny Crammon on 07796 993 750 or danny.cramman@avisonyoung.co.uk.