North East charity seeks architectural support to convert office space into five flats

What do they need help with?

Community Campus 87 owns its main office at 76 Brunswick Street, Stockton-on-Tees. The building is currently underutilised, and the organisation would like to explore converting its top floor, which measures approximately 200 sq m, into five self-contained flats.

The new homes would provide move-on accommodation for young people currently living in Community Campus’s supported housing. Affordable accommodation locally is limited, and many young people would prefer to remain with Community Campus as their landlord because of the long-term relationship and trust they have developed with the organisation.

Creating these flats would also free up existing supported accommodation for other young people who need it, helping Community Campus respond to high demand for its services.

Community Campus is looking for an architect to assess the feasibility of converting the top floor and advise on what would be required to take the project forward. It would also welcome a broad estimate of likely development costs.

The organisation currently estimates that the conversion could cost approximately £100,000–£150,000. It believes this could offer a significantly more cost-effective route to creating five homes than purchasing additional properties, which it estimates could cost more than £400,000.

If the top-floor conversion proves successful, Community Campus would look at replicating the model on the first floor, which is a similar size.

Timeline

ASAP

About the organisation

Community Campus 87 (Cleveland) Ltd was established in 1987 in response to high levels of youth homelessness, unemployment and poor-quality temporary accommodation across Teesside.

Since then, it has used funding to acquire and renovate empty and derelict properties, combining the creation of homes with training, apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities in construction. Its tenancy support team provides holistic, trauma-informed support to help young people sustain their tenancies and develop the skills needed to live independently.

Today, Community Campus owns 60 properties and leases a further 16, providing 101 bed spaces. It works across Middlesbrough, Stockton and Hartlepool, supporting care leavers, separated migrant young people, young people estranged from their families and adults experiencing homelessness or complex needs.

During 2026/27, the organisation reports housing 179 people, including 77 new residents. Of the 67 people who left its services, 52 – 78% – moved on to a housing option of their choice.

http://www.communitycampus87.com