Concrete was poured to mark a key moment in a £25 million Swansea project, with a Welsh Government minister urging the city to forge its own retail identity.
High Street Urban Village courtesy of icreate
AM Huw Lewis did the honours at the under-construction Urban Village, which will eventually see retail units, flats, courtyards, a car park, refurbished Kings Lane warehouse and a "creative cluster" linking High Street and The Strand.
Developer and registered social landlord Coastal Housing is delivering the split-level scheme in two phases, with the building structure of the first phase now officially completed.
Mr Lewis, the Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage, said Swansea had much to be proud of but remained "a work in progress".
He said retailers everywhere faced a very challenging world.
"The idea of the traditional high street has gone now," said the AM for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney.
"Each town and city has got to find its own way."
"Keeping these centres alive is not only crucial from an economic perspective, but equally from a cultural and historic perspective."
"The Urban Village will breathe new live into Swansea's High Street, with vibrant shop frontages, attractive commercial space and numerous residential units."
Coastal Housing chief executive Tim Blanch said the plan was to hand over the High Street retail units in August or September, the office space around Christmas and the 76 one and two-bedroom flats next summer.
Mr Blanch said some tenants had been lined up for the retail space and that discussions were ongoing, but added: "You can't really persuade people to sign up before they see the finished product."
Coastal Housing is behind several other regeneration schemes in Swansea, including 34 flats at the former Baron's nightclub on College Street and dozens of new homes and flats at its Cwmfelin project, off Llangyfelach Road. This year it is spending £36 million, with £24 million of that private funding.
Coastal Housing's Swansea creative hub manager Huw Williams said affordable rent and the "right space" were key to the creative cluster working.
He said similar clusters had been a success in Bristol and Birmingham, adding: "It's proven to work."
South Wales Evening Post - Thursday 21 July, 2011.
