Dec 03 - Midtown Development Phase 1 Receives Immense Local Interest
With economic ties between the Rock and the US developing through the freshly launched Gibraltar branch of the American Chamber of Commerce, we are soon to see robust cultural links come about through the development of the ‘Midtown’ complex, which will feature luxury residential apartments, an abundance of office space and retail units to bring the community back to the heart of Gibraltar. It will further feature the new coach park, plenty of public parking and a new green space for the general population.
The development received the green light from the Development and Planning Commission earlier this year, after a re-design of the site and a collaboration with the Government, to include over 2000 parking spaces and Gibraltar’s new coach park.
The luxury estate has already broken ground on the site of the former multi storey car park next to Regal House. Phase 1 of the project was revealed to the public through nine of Gibraltar’s estate agents, including Marina Bay based Bray Properties, who sat down with YGTV to discuss the development in depth. This initial phase included the sale of 65 apartments in the three residential buildings; Lexington, Arlington and Burlington.
Justin Bray explained that the names were heavily inspired by a North American theme with office buildings set to be released for rental space in phase 2 in approximately six weeks bearing the titles Madison and Boston. 
With prices ranging between £400,000 and £1.65 million, many of the flats have been snapped up already, with mostly locals registering their interest in the development, which will be furnished under a modern all-American influence. Buildings will feature a 24 hour concierge service and a private pool and gardens.
The retail spaces on the ground floor will include bars, restaurants and shops, similar to Ocean Village but under stricter control. The area is not set to be an centre for entertainment, but rather a more upscale social hub.
Central park, another green area for the town centre, will feature as part of the complex, and will be built in the location of the current Naval Ground car park. The entire development is envisioned to take around three years to complete, with the coach park taking precedence. The new multi storey cark park will feature spaces for the public to purchase or rent, as well as free parking. Once completed it will be run by the Government-owned Gibraltar Car Parks Ltd.
The developers are a local company who originally devised the complex under the previous administration. They are formerly responsible for the Anchorage and King’s Wharf. Those looking to register their interest in any of the apartments can contact Bray Properties via Facebook.
Over 18,000 square meters of office space is set to be released for rent in phase two. Despite the abundance of new office space becoming available with the close by Victory Place development which is set to begin work soon, and Gibraltar’s World Trade Centre having broken ground in the Summer, the Midtown developers envision the complex to be secure and stable in the long term, with the central setting likely to prove beneficial to businesses.
