Council set to revive Jopling House

One of Sunderland's most iconic former retail stores is now in council ownership, with the city's leader calling it 'a key connector between two transforming parts of the city centre'. 

Jopling House - which occupies a prime position between Riverside Sunderland and Sunniside - has been bought by the council in a move it describes as being 'vital to ensuring the building contributes positively to city regeneration'. 

The former high street department store - which was converted into student accommodation around five years ago, will be improved at ground floor level, with the aim of attracting retail or food and drink businesses to bring vibrancy at a street level. Additional investment will enhance the upper floors too, improving the external fascia which was left unfinished by the previous owner. 

The acquisition will allow the council to maintain the current use of the building, after suggestions the building could be sold and repurposed. 

Councillor Kevin Johnston, dynamic city cabinet member at Sunderland City Council, said: "Our residents deserve a city centre they can be proud of, and - wherever we can impact on that - we are delivering. 

"Council-led developments like our City Hall, The Beam and the multi-storey car park at Farringdon Row, are raising the bar in the city centre and, in turn, this pushes others to do the same.  

"We cannot buy or develop every single building in the city centre, but what we can do is nurture an environment in which our traders are given the best possible chance of success, by ensuring the right developments move forward and with our plans for Sunniside - which will see the development of a new cluster of creative studio-homes - we want to knit this into the transforming Riverside Sunderland area and ensure the quality of offer in the city centre is as high as possible."

Jopling House is currently divided into 140 en-suite apartments, specifically targeting students looking for accommodation close to campus. It is understood that the site's previous owners were engaged in discussions that could have seen it move away from student accommodation.

With plans to regenerate Sunniside into a stunning new creative community, the property bridges the historic heart of Sunderland with the new Riverside Sunderland development, which is gathering pace, with two new grade A offices set to open next year, as well as the Sheepfolds Stables leisure hub and work advancing on a new river crossing for pedestrians. 

Cllr Johnston added: "It is important, in the context of our hugely ambitious aims for the city centre, that this site attracts the right kind and level of ongoing investment, to keep pace with the quality of development we are bringing forward elsewhere in the city, and in Sunniside and High Street West.  

"We do not plan to make any changes to the use of the building but will look to drive investment that will regenerate its ground floor, creating a vibrant high street that complements the transformation underway on the doorstep. We're determined that Riverside Sunderland is a stimulus for a whole-city-centre regeneration and that we connect surrounding areas into it."