Tees Business | Page 20

20 | Tees Business HART BEAT Waterside wonder: Joe Darragh (pictured) says the vacant units at the stunning Hartlepool Marina are a rare opportunity. Tees Business discovers a rare opportunity among the thriving entertainment zone of Hartlepool Marina L isten to the clinking glasses and the hustle and bustle of friendly chatter and there is only one conclusion possible: the sound of success has returned down by the water at Hartlepool Marina. It’s boom time again for a former regeneration zone that nearly 30 years ago saw The Mandale Group, one of the NorthEast’s leading property developers, convert 75 acres of wasteland into a multi-award winning visitor destination. The marina is home to nearly 500 boats and yachts and a playground for those who love messing about on the water. Hartlepool’s M aritime Experience is the honeypot attraction but the marina is peppered with more than 400 apartments, 100,000 sq ft of offices, 300,000 sq ft of retail space and over 20 restaurants, cafes and bars. Navigation Point, close to the lock-gates, is the established entertainment quarter, boasting the highest concentration of restaurants in Hartlepool, offering cuisines from around the world every day of the week. An entire stretch of premises, from the lock-gates at one end to the far edge of the marina, are a hive of eateries separated by a busy hub of bars and cafes. Now Mandale, the same forward-thinking company that was behind the regeneration of the marina, has completed work on five refurbished commercial units within the thriving Navigation Point. Two of the units have already been snapped up but three more are available for immediate lease or sale. The £500,000 project has seen Mandale transform the former headquarters of civil engineering firm Seymour’s, who have moved to purpose-built offices at the nearby Mandale House. Mandale has invested around £100,000 on each unit to provide high-quality air conditioning, lighting systems, kitchen areas and external seating areas. Deals were quickly agreed for the development’s two larger units. Owners of Navigation Point’s existing café wine bar, How Do You Do?, agreed a longterm lease of a 2,000 sq ft unit for a new bar and bistro, called Oh This is Us. And prosecco bar, Hello Goodbye, is its next door neighbour. Joe Darragh, head of property development for the Mandale Group, believes the three remaining units of various sizes would be an ideal location for a micro bar, restaurant, takeaway, bakery, sandwich shop, amusements, office or betting shop. “This is a fantastic opportunity for a new commercial venture right at the centre of Hartlepool Marina, one of the North-East’s key tourist attractions,” says Darragh. “The 21 existing units within Navigation Point already combine high quality cuisine and a bustling night life. In fact, the marina offers the highest concentration of restaurants anywhere in Hartlepool. “The marina is becoming a destination venue, so this is a rare opportunity to become part of a successful commercial zone. “We’ve carefully refurbished each new unit to an extremely high standard to enable businesses to move in with a minimum cost and time.” For more details about the vacant units at Navigation Point or to arrange a viewing, contact Joe Darragh at Mandale on 07973 908599 or email joe@mandale.com.