Work has begun to transform the former McDonalds restaurant on Swansea’s Kingsway into a mix of commercial premises and affordable homes to rent. Swansea-based non-profit Coastal Housing is responsible for the redevelopment by construction partner Easyliving Ltd.

It is the latest in a spate of construction projects along one of the city’s main thoroughfares, including the large-scale redevelopment of the former Oceana nightclub at 71 and 72 Kingsway by Swansea Council.

61 Kingsway operated as a McDonalds for more than a decade until its closure in 2010 and has remained vacant ever since. “Coastal successfully operates a lot of mixed tenure accommodation across the city”, says Regeneration Manager, Andrew Parry-Jones. “Creating a balance between commercial and residential units in a way that complements both is key to our approach to city centre regeneration. This is the first in a series of such projects we have planned in the city, so there will be a number of announcements following this one ”

On completion the redeveloped building will provide 7 apartments for social rent along with 2 ground floor commercial units on the Kingsway and Park Street entrances respectively.