Housing trust Torus has said feedback to its early plans for the recently-acquired Melwood training complex has been "really positive" - and that the site will include reference to its glittering history.
Group CEO Steve Coffey said he was "optimistic" about the future of the site, which was bought from Liverpool FC during the summer, when Torus announced its intention to build social, affordable homes.
When the sale was announced in August, there was a mixed response, with some demanding Melwood be retained for community use.
A protest was held in August shortly after the news was announced.
But Torus group CEO Steve Coffey said feedback to its early stages consultation has been good.
Speaking to BusinessLive at the MIPIM º£½ÇÊÓƵ property summit in London, Mr Coffey said: "The feedback has been really positive. There have been some difficulties between club and community in the past, but since we got involved, we have engaged very positively with them.
"We had an event last week where we took the community in, and that was very well received."
He added: "We want to come up with something we can be proud of and the club can be proud of.
"It's an exciting opportunity, but I must say I'm an Everton fan. We are not looking at the project in a starry-eyed kind of way. It's a housing proposition, and we are embedded in those communities."
The exact details of the plans for Melwood have not yet been revealed, but Mr Coffey said the development will include a "nod" to its history - of having been the training ground graced by stars from Ian Rush to Mo Salah since the 1950s.
He said that will include a "significant green space" to be involved in the scheme.
"We are talking to the community about a plan that respects the heritage of the site, and delivers something which the community can buy into, and satisfies residents around the town."
Liverpool City Region Business News
The club said earlier this year that all the funds from the sale will be reinvested back into the first team squad - and the that will be used from next summer.
Work on the new training ground started in summer 2018 and is expected to be completed in summer 2020.
Describing how the acquisition came about, Mr Coffey said: "In Liverpool, land is difficult. Particularly in the south of the city, land values are higher, and that makes it difficult.
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"But Melwood is a good site from a commercial point of view. When we heard about it becoming available, we declared our interest straight away.
"The issue for us was that we might not offer as much money as the private sector would, but through strategic partnership we could use available grants that made our offer very viable for the football club as well. That made it a win-win all around."
When the sale was announced, Reds bosses said the Torus group was identified as the best socially responsible housing developer to take over the site.
Torus already has 1,600 homes in the West Derby area and, having amalgamated with Liverpool Mutual Homes earlier this year, manages around 40,000 social homes across the North West.
Mr Coffey said the fact Torus already owns thousands of nearby homes helped the bid for Melwood.
"Being embedded into the community already enabled us to deal with them in a way that private developments wouldn't be able to engage."
