Hull’s £24 million Fruit Market residential development is complete.
The creation of the city’s first ‘urban village’ has been marked by those behind the four year project, a key part of the transformation of the waterfront area.
A near-derelict area – once home to Hull’s wholesale fruit and veg trade – has been transformed into a vibrant commercial, creative, cultural and residential community.
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Buyers have snapped up all but one of the 109 homes, arranged around four private courtyards, with some even adding further properties as buy-to-lets, having been impressed with their surroundings.
The Fruit Market is now home to around 300 residents, ranging from young couples and professionals, to families and retired people, living in townhouses and duplex apartments, arranged over two and three floors.
The scheme is a key element of the £80m regeneration of the Fruit Market area driven forward by Wykeland Beal, a joint venture company formed by city commercial developer Wykeland Group and Hessle-headquartered housebuilder Beal Homes, working in partnership with Hull City Council.
The residential development successfully launched in January 2018, with homes worth almost £7 million sold during the opening weekend. Construction began on site in June that year.
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Richard Beal, chief executive of East Yorkshire-based Beal Homes, said: “The Fruit Market residential development has been a huge success and proven tremendously popular.
“From the outset we were committed to delivering much more than just a residential development.
“We saw this as a unique opportunity to create a new place to live unlike anything else in Hull or the surrounding region.
“Our ambition was to create a new neighbourhood offering the very best of urban design, in keeping with the area’s rich history and heritage, and attractive to a broad range of residents, all enjoying the vibrant lifestyle the Fruit Market offers, with so much to do and enjoy on their doorstep.
“We believe we have achieved that in the Fruit Market by creating a community where people love to live and which sets a new benchmark for city living in Hull.
“It’s been fantastic to see the development take shape and very satisfying to see it now completed and home to such a friendly and welcoming community.”
Created on a brownfield site, the development’s design is described as blending traditional and contemporary styles to create a highly attractive and sustainable community in keeping with character of the area.
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Dominic Gibbons, managing director of Wykeland Group, itself based at the Fruit Market, said: “There have been so many high points over the course of the past few years as we have delivered so much positive change in the Fruit Market. The completion of the residential development is certainly one of those.
“Our vision is to create a unique and vibrant quarter where people live, work and play, so the residential element is a key part of the overall regeneration picture.
“Having hundreds of people living in the Fruit Market adds to the very strong sense of community and contributes to the vitality of the area. It also means the shops, restaurants, cafés, bars and galleries have a community of customers on tap.
“It’s great to see such a diverse range of residents embracing urban living and everything the Fruit Market has to offer.”
Among the final buyers in the Fruit Market is pharmacist Amby Ezem, 28, who moved into her two-bedroom apartment in Finkle Quarter, the final phase of the development, in September last year.
Now, with support from her family, she has invested in a three-bedroom townhouse there, which she has rented out to tenants through Beal’s property management company Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Developments.
She said: “The location is just perfect. There is so much to do here. The Fruit Market has everything I need and I love urban living. It’s a friendly community and I look forward to coming home from work to be here.”
Librarian Deborah Morgan and her husband, Prof Trevor Burnard, director of the Wilberforce Institute in Hull, relocated from Melbourne, Australia, and bought in Horner’s Square in November 2020.
Their love for the area cemented Deborah’s recent decision to buy a two-bedroom apartment in Finkle Quarter to rent out.
Deborah, 62, said: “We love the vibe in the Fruit Market and that it is so close to the city centre and with bars, restaurants and everything we need close to hand.
“This is an area of Hull that will continue to go from strength to strength and we’re very settled and comfortable here. We’ve lived in many different places and this is one of best. It’s a really friendly, close-knit community.
“Buying the apartment is a good investment in a very desirable area. It’s really appealing to people who enjoy a more urban lifestyle.”
Another buyer of a property in the final phase of the Fruit Market is construction manager Paul Moore. He bought a two bedroom apartment in Horner’s Square in 2019 and has recently also invested in a three-bedroom townhouse in Finkle Quarter, which he will move into while renting the apartment out.
Paul, 53, said: “I chose to buy in the Fruit Market because it has such a convenient central location and I enjoy city centre living.
“The Fruit Market is such a friendly community and everyone here is really nice. City centre living is definitely becoming more popular and I’m really pleased with my investments."
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