Houses demolished for Brains site development
A TINY row of terraced houses is being knocked down to make way for one of Cardiff’s biggest redevelopments.
Work has started to demolish the handful of former homes on Percy Street as part of the huge development of the former Brains Brewery site.
The brewery is waiting to be transformed into 2.5m square feet of offices, apartments, bars and restaurants in one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects.
In 2019 Brains moved out, relocating their brewery and headquarters to the new Dragon Brewery site on the Pacific Business Park in Tremorfa.
Five properties on Percy Street are set to be knocked down to make way for the redevelopment.
The former BMW Sytner showrooms on Penarth Road have already been knocked down as part of the same phase of the project.
Now that the long-standing car showroom has gone the new BBC studios in Central Square can be seen from the spot.
With new office space, bars, restaurants and apartments, over the longterm, Central Quay is expected to create and support thousands of jobs.
Overlooking the River Taff will be the scheme’s main residential element.
This could see around 1,500 apartments in the growing private rented sector (PRS).
The master plan from architectural firm Benoy, has provision for around 1 million sq ft of apartments.
The iconic Brains chimney and brewhouse will remain as the centrepiece of the Central Quay development, which will also include a Brains pub and visitor attraction.
Developers said site preparation works are almost complete on the wider site and the iconic Brains chimney has already been renovated.
Although it’s been many years since Brains last brewed a pint on the site, it has not abandoned its former home. It has partnered with Cardiff-based Rightacres Property to jointly develop the site.
Phase one of the scheme will include The Ledger Building, Wales’ largestever speculative office development, and a 650-space multi-storey car park.
A spokesperson for Rightacres said “Site preparation works are almost complete and we have now started work to refurbish the original Brewhouse.
“The Brains chimney has already been renovated and these two historic buildings will form the centrepiece of the whole Central Quay development.
“We anticipate submitting planning applications for our first river front residential scheme later in the year.”