A PROPERTY developer has won an award for constructing a 190,000-square-foot manufacturing space in Basingstoke.

Blackstone-owned industrial and residential developer St Modwen won the commercial development of the year for the South East award for its £18.1m project on an 11.3-acre site at the former Viables Business Park.

The award has been given by CoStar, a provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and news.

The manufacturing space has been leased to Basingstoke firm LevertonHELM – a joint venture between Leverton Lithium and German chemical business HELM.

Leverton Lithium was founded in Basingstoke more than 45 years ago.

The development features three warehouses and two retail pods, with sustainability features including rainwater harvesting, EV charging points and photovoltaic solar panels.

The industrial facilities are located next to the M3, making the location vital for the area's economic recovery.

The judges for the award comprised of P-Three co-founder Hannah McNamara, Fiera Real Estate's head of UK real estate Charlie Allen, Rare Real Estate founder and managing director Jonathan Mannings, DTRE founding partner Keith Dowley, and University of Reading's head of department for real estate and planning Gianluca Marcato.

Mr Dowley said that "securing a local occupier to deliver much-needed space that ensures significant investment in new green technologies stays in the town is key in this instance".

Ms McNamara said: "The development by St Modwen created buildings with high environmental credentials including rainwater harvesting and EV charging points. It also kept a local company within the area adding to surrounding employment."

The CoStar Impact Awards recognises the commercial real estate transactions and projects that have transformed their markets over the past year. The winners are selected by independent panels of industry professionals who work in the markets they judge. CoStar is a provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and news.