Merchant Park has celebrated reaching the ‘topping out’ stage on phase one of its Newton Aycliffe development.
The scheme on Millennium Way at Aycliffe Business Park will create 52,500 square feet of new commercial space and 198 jobs.
Completion of phase one is expected in September 2025.
Work on infrastructure for phases two and three is already underway, with plans for 89,000 square feet and 126,500 square feet of space.
The full project aims to deliver a total of 1,014 jobs once finished.
The milestone was marked with a ceremony attended by Merchant Park, FW Capital and Hall Construction.
FW Capital invested in phase one using a senior debt package from the North East Commercial Property Investment Fund, managed by FW Capital and backed by the North East Combined Authority.
The North East CA has also offered support to help with infrastructure costs for phases two and three.
Chris Dixon (pictured, centre left), senior investment executive at FW Capital, said: “It’s great to be involved with the ‘topping out’ ceremony and see first-hand how investment from the CPIF is helping meet the demand for commercial property space in the North East.
“We share Merchant Park’s vision to create quality commercial warehouse and office space, regenerating a previous barren land.”
Adrian Goodall from Merchant Park Developments said: “I’ve been impressed by the progress on site by our contractors Hall Construction.
“After months of planning and preparation work it’s fantastic to hit this milestone which brings us closer to supporting North East businesses looking to scale up and locate to new premises.”
