Park Hill, Sheffield

Our Park Hill development in Sheffield — the largest listed building in Europe — was a collaborative project with Urban Splash.

Built between 1957 and 1961, this concrete icon in the middle of a beautifully landscaped space was the product of utopian hope: to build new community spaces for families in South Yorkshire. Sadly, the building experienced a prolonged period of decline — that is, before this regenerative project began.

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Why this site?

Picture Living’s engagement with the Park Hill development in Sheffield stemmed from our commitment to long-term investments that align with community values and regeneration initiatives. A joint venture partnership between Urban Splash and Places for People, provided an assurance that the investment would contribute towards a thriving and sustainable community.

The project's architectural significance, thoughtful design, and spectacular outlook also played its part in our commitment — its Brutalist style, along with the original community-building purpose, had been blemished by deterioration over time. But this remained an area where people truly wanted to live, so we wanted to contribute towards its restoration.

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Collaboration with our partners

• Phase one:
• Urban Splash develops 200 homes and roughly 20,000 square feet of commercial space. Properties at this stage are primarily sold.

• Phase two:
• Rental offerings provided a diverse range of housing options that catered to varied tenant preferences and financial capacities. Picture Living's involvement contributed to the creation of a vibrant and inclusive community within the development.
• We were determined to get the details right and ensure it was the right product, before completing contract negotiations. Our two experienced teams made this one of the most straightforward and rewarding deals we’ve ever had the pleasure of working on.
• It took just two years from initial discussions to completion.
• This timeframe allowed for meticulous planning, careful consideration of tenant preferences, and the alignment of both parties' objectives to ensure the successful integration of Picture Living's rental homes into the Park Hill development.
• 80 homes were then delivered to Picture Living in 2022.

• By completion:
• ‍Park Hill will boast a broad range of over 700 homes and approximately 60,000 square feet of commercial space.

"We wanted to work with partners who could deliver forward sales, so we had security over having sold some of the properties while also knowing that the community would continue to develop. We’ve worked with Picture Living on a number of projects and they consistently prove themselves to be responsible landlords and a great company to work with. In fact, this wasn’t a competitive exercise: Picture Living was our number one choice."

Guy Ackernley, Managing Director at Urban Splash

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An award-winning project

The renovations and community that has developed at Park Hill have been something of a sensation. Since the project began, it has:

• earned both the Sustainable Project of the Year and Sustainable Renovation of the Year at the 2023 Dezeen Awards.
• secured one of six shortlist spaces for the 2013 RIBA Stirling Prize.
• been cited in The Sunday Times as somewhere helping Sheffield become the "Capital of Cool".
• inspired — through their community and the sense of belonging of residents — the multi-award-winning musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge, winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical and UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production.​

Our partnership serves as a testament to the successful alignment of community values, being a responsible landlord, innovative property regeneration, and the freedom to put down roots — whether you can or cannot afford to buy. This collaboration not only revitalized an iconic architectural site but also contributed to the creation of a diverse and thriving community that celebrates the essence of modern urban living. Park Hill is, once again, somewhere people see as a great place to live.

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We’re looking for more projects

Established in 2018, Picture Living owns and manages a portfolio of more than 1,700 properties — one of the largest operational portfolios of private rented properties throughout the UK. We are currently forward funding a further pipeline, with 200+ units under construction, and are looking to increase this amount substantially.

If you would like to work together, please contact the team.

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