Downing Plaza, Newcastle upon Tyne

English: Downing Plaza is a development of high rise buildings on the west side of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, located to the south east of the city's football stadium, St James' Park. Built on part of the land cleared after a brewery was demolished, it consists of various blocks completed in phases, with the first one started in 2009 and the last due to be finished by 2014.

Components/Timeline

The various blocks are arranged as follows:

• Newcastle University Business School
  • 54.974184°N 1.623133°W / 54.974184; -1.623133
  • This is a 10-floor block built as a roughly rectangular E-W aligned building, whose eastern end fronts onto Barrack Road, opposite the SW corner of the stadium. Designated Block B but constructed as Phase 1, construction began in July 2009 and was the first to be completed, March 2011.
• Central Link^L student accommodation
  • 54.973778°N 1.623573°W / 54.973778; -1.623573 Block C - an 11 floor block, aligned N-S
  • 54.973968°N 1.624056°W / 54.973968; -1.624056 Block D - an 11 floor block, aligned E-W
  • 54.973673°N 1.624088°W / 54.973673; -1.624088 Block E - an 8 floor block, aligned N-S
  • This is a site comprising three rectangular blocks built in the square plot bounded by Wellington Street to the west and Heber Street to the south. Designated as Blocks C, D & E, it was constructed as Phase 2, being started in July 2010 and completed by August 2011.
• Central St James^L student accommodation
  • 54.973371°N 1.623487°W / 54.973371; -1.623487 northern tower
  • 54.973082°N 1.623176°W / 54.973082; -1.623176 southern tower
  • This development occupies the N-S aligned rectangular plot bounded by Wellington Street to the west and Heber Street to the north. Originally meant to be a single rectangular 7-floor office block, the plans were subsequently changed to a design featuring a narrow 7 floor block along the Wellington Street side, with two towers at either end, rising to 10 floors, creating a courtyard on the eastern side. Designated Block F and built as Phase 3, construction began on May 2011 and was completed by August 2012.
• The Ceres student accommodation
  • 54.973901°N 1.622758°W / 54.973901; -1.622758
  • This is an 18-floor tower block, with retail units in the ground floor. It sits in the plot bounded by Block B (the Business School) to the north, Barrack Road to the east, Heber Street to the south and Block C to the west. Designated Block A but built as Phase 4, construction began in January 2013, due for completion by August 2014.
• ^L - Having been completed with prominent signage referring to their original names, the Central Link and Central St James sites also now go by the collective name Liberty Plaza, referring to the management company Liberty Living.

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  The view NE across Wellington Street, with the construction of Block B visible behind the People's Kitchen building
  24 May 2010

Surrounding developments

Coinciding with the new building for Downing Plaza was the refurbishment of an office block to the south, and the demolishing of three housing blocks to the north, as follows:

• The office block was the former brewery headquarters, the only building not to be demolished. Sited immediately to the south of the plot for Block A, it fronts onto Gallowgate (the continuation south of Barrack Road). After refurbishment, it reopened as a hotel/apartment block, the 11-floor Sandman Signature Newcastle 54.973633°N 1.621969°W / 54.973633; -1.621969.
• The housing were the 1974 built flats comprising 1-60 Hill Court, Pitt Street. These flats were arranged in three 5 storey tower blocks (Block 1, 2, 3) in the triangular plot 54.974282°N 1.624249°W / 54.974282; -1.624249 bounded by Pitt Street to their north, Wellington Street to the west and the sites for Blocks D & B to the south (with a public footpath separating the new blocks from the Hill Court triangle). These blocks were demolished in March 2013, being replaced by grass and trees.

On the other side of Wellington Street, the rest of the brewery site is being redeveloped as Science Central, although it remained a brown field site for much of the time Downing Plaza was being built, with the first block only going up in Autumn 2013.

• 
  The view west from St James Metro station car park, showing the location of the Sandman hotel on the left, in respect of to Blocks A & B on the right
  4 September 2013
• 
  The view SE down Wellington Street, showing the completed Central Link & Central St James on the left, with the crane beginning the first construction of Science Central on the right
  4 September 2013
• 
  The view from the south either side of Wellington Street. The crane on the left is working on Science Central, the right on Block A (The Ceres)
  4 September 2013

General views

• 
  From the east (along Strawberry Place)
  30 July 2012
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  From the east (along Strawberry Place)
  4 September 2013
• 
  From the SE
  7 September 2013
• 
  From the south (St James' Boulevard/Wellington Street)
  4 September 2013
• 
  From the NW, across Wellington Street
  4 September 2013

Components

Block A (The Ceres)

• 
  The east end
  7 September 2013
• 
  The east end (from Strawberry Place)
  7 September 2013
• 
  The east end
  7 September 2013
• 
  The north side
  7 September 2013
• 
  The west end, from the SW (Heber Street)
  4 September 2013
• 
  The south facade, from the SW (Heber Street)
  4 September 2013

Block B (Business School)

• 
  From the NW (Pitt Street)
  4 September 2013
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  From the SW
  7 September 2013
• 
  The west end, from the south (Heber Street)
  4 September 2013

Blocks C, D, E (Central Link)

• 
  The view south from Pitt Street through the gap between the Business School (Block B), left, and Central Link Block D, right
  4 September 2013
• 
  The view south from Pitt Street to Block D, across the area previously occupied by the Hill Court blocks
  4 September 2013
• 
  The view from the NW to the west end of Block C (left) and the north end of Block E (right)
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  Looking east from Wellington Street through the gap between Block D (left) & Block E (right)
  4 September 2013
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  Block E from the NW, across Wellington Street
  4 September 2013
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  The south ends of Block E (left) & C (right), from the SW (Wellington Street)
  4 September 2013
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  The south end of Block E, from the south (Wellington Street)
  4 September 2013
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  The south end of Block C, from the SW (Wellington Street)
  4 September 2013

Block F (Central St James)

• 
  From the NW, across Wellington Street
  4 September 2013
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  The north end, from Wellington Street
  4 September 2013
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  The west facade door, on Wellington Street
  4 September 2013
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  The south end from the SW (Wellington Street)
  4 September 2013
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  The east ends of the two towers, from the north (Heber Street)
  4 September 2013
• 
  East end of the north tower (looking along Heber Street)
  7 September 2013