As reported by Teesside Live on 29 July, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen’s review into the future of the Middlesbrough Development Corporation (MDC) has been delayed. Instead of reporting back in June 2026, this now won’t happen until September 2026.
Delaying the inevitable
When the inevitable coup de grâce of the MDC is finally delivered, it’ll be up to Mayor Chris Cooke, and the town’s council, to deliver the redevelopment that Middlesbrough badly needs. I’ve made a list of the Top 20 buildings that will need to be revived as part of that process. I visited these buildings on 10 August, to report on the current state of play.
A map always helps
So, first of all, a map showing the Top 20 empty buildings:
Building #1: 1-15 Queens Terrace
It’s a Grade II Listed Building on Queens Square, constructed in about 1850. Queens Terrace is in the heart of the towns’ “Boho Zone”. But it’s been empty since Jackson’s solicitors left in 1997. Where’s the next occupant coming from? It’s tricky to convert buildings such as this into modern office accommodation.
Building #2: Zetland Buildings
One of the town’s finest Victorian ensembles, but it’s been empty since AXA Insurance relocated to Centre Square three years ago.
Building #3: Exchange House
This is Middlesbrough’s former main post office. A sign outside says that the building is up for auction, but the council has recently removed it from the auction process. It runs to a massive 49,000 square feet, and could be converted to apartments. But, just out of shot to the right, the A66 Viaduct cuts across the front of the building at first floor level, which could put potential tenants off.
Building #4: Deltic House
Deltic House, on Zetland Road, is the former headquarters of the local newspaper, The Evening Gazette. Some signs in the ground floor windows hint that the building is about to become a Best Western Hotel. But that announcement was made nearly two years ago, and nothing has been heard since. With its distinctive ground floor window, this building would scrub up really well under renovation.
Building #5: Grand Astoria
This is another potential hotel conversation, although that deal was announced more than seven years ago. It’s better known as the Chicago Rock night club, but older readers will remember this building as the Hippodrome Theatre, dating back to 1908. It’s also been a cinema and a bingo hall in its time. However, it’s another building that suffers from its proximity to the A66 Viaduct.
Building #6: Marks & Spencer
The former M&S Store is due to be reopened as the Ideal Home Department Store on 28 August, but there was no sign of activity during my visit. You can read here about the background of the developer behind this new project.
Building #7: Hill Street Shopping Centre
The centre opened in 1981. Well, okay, it’s not exactly empty, but footfall isn’t what it used to be. It lost its two anchor tenants, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer, in 2021 and 2022 respectively. There are numerous unoccupied units.
Building #8: Next
This store was first opened by Dutch retailer C&A in 1960, but was latterly occupied by Next. Local entrepreneur Nasser Din bought the store premises, at 52-54 Linthorpe Road, in July 2024. Exactly one year later, in July 2025, Next closed the store. Shortly afterwards, Mr Din put it up for sale for £450k. However, there have been no takers, and the asking price was reduced to £310k in July 2026. We’ll look forward to the next update in July 2027.
Building #9: Debenhams
The former Debenhams store occupies a key site at the junction of Linthorpe Road and Newport Road. The store closed in 2021, and was then sold to a ‘local property developer’ for £650k in 2023. But there haven’t been any hints about future plans since Debenhams closed five years ago.
Building #10: Binns
It was known as House of Fraser from 2006 onwards, but everyone continued to call it Binns, it sits opposite Debenhams. Both stores still advertise their former branding, even though this one closed four years ago. The handsome Binns building isn’t listed, although The Twentieth Century Society likes it. Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston inexplicably instructed the council to purchase the premises for £1mn in 2020. Even more inexplicably, Ben Houchen’s MDC bought it from the council in 2024.Since then, several proposals to revive the building have come to nothing.
Building #11: Dundas House
Dundas House dates back to 1965. It’s not bad looking for a modernist building. It’s been largely unoccupied since BT closed its call centre 17 years ago. Along with several Middlesbrough high-rises built in this era, the limited floor heights prevent conversion to Grade A office space. Dundas House is another possible candidate for apartments, if a developer can be found.
Building #12: 28-32 Albert Road
A former branch of Barclays Bank, but it’s got the same structural issues as Dundas House. It’s difficult to see how premises of this type will ever achieve long-term office rentals. Another apartment conversion? There’s only so much the market can take.
Building #13: Gurney House
When Cleveland County Council was abolished in April 1996, Gurney House lost its purpose as the council headquarters. It’s been vacant ever since, an incredible 30 years. In 2012, local property developer Jomast Limited announced plans to turn Gurney House into a casino and hotel complex. Needless to say, these plans proved to be unrealistic.
Building #14: Vancouver House
Vancouver House can be found just along Gurney Street from Gurney House, at the junction with Corporation Road. It was built by Middlesbrough Council in 1978 as overspill office accommodation for the nearby town hall and civic centre. But it’s been unoccupied since 2019. It’s another site where numerous development schemes have come and gone. The latest plan from Arain Holdings, which has owned Vancouver House since 2022, is to convert the building into student accommodation, with a pub on the ground floor. Pro tip: Don’t call the pub the ‘Smoggy Scholar’.
Building #15, Centre North East
Middlesbrough’s tallest building, formerly known as Corporation House. It once housed government agencies such as the DVLA and Post Office Telecommunications, and has since played host to call centres. But it hasn’t seen much use in the 21st Century. It can be seen towering over Middlesbrough Town Hall. The Town Hall clock looks odd because it has temporarily had its hands removed for repairs.
Building #16: Cleveland Centre
Middlesbrough’s first shopping mall, opened in 1971. As with the town’s other main shopping centre Hill Street (See Building #7) it has a lot of vacant units. The Cleveland Centre is way past its sell-by date. It would make sense to transfer the remaining shops to Hill Street, then demolish it. But that would be a prohibitively expensive operation, so it will continue to wither on the vine. Signage for Boots can be seen in the photo below, but that’s deceptive. The company relocated to a smaller premises in the Hill Street Centre in February 2026.
Building #17, Church House
This former office building has been converted into 86 luxury apartments, with four commercial units on the ground floor. Church House is owned by Jomast, who were given a grant of £1.4mn from Middlesbrough Council towards the work. Despite the work being completed two years ago, none of the commercial units has been let. On my visit, the car park was entirely empty, which indicates that few of the apartments have been occupied. The apartment rents are thought to be expensive by Middlesbrough standards.
Building #18, Harrison House
Harrison house is an under-construction student accommodation block, located on Borough Road. But progress has stalled, and there’s been no actual construction since 2021. The failure of the nearby Crown Square development, was partially attributed to the lack of appetite for student accommodation in Middlesbrough, and the current status of Harrison House would appear to confirm this.
Building #19, The Crown pub
If anything symbolises the poor state of the commercial property market in Middlesbrough, then it’s this site. You can read more about the shenanigans of former mayor Andy Preston and his acquisition of the Crown pub here. The building continues to rot away, along with the ill-fated Crown Square development, which would have been built on the adjacent demolition site. However, gardening fans will be delighted to see that buddleia now competes with the birch tree growing on the roof.
Building #20, Psyche
This Middlesbrough icon, at 175-187 Linthorpe Road, was once the home of E Upton & Sons department store group. Upton’s closed in 2000, and the building then became the home of famous Teesside brand Psyche attire. Retail magnate Mike Ashley bought Psyche in January 2021, then rebranded the store as Frasers. But Frasers only lasted two years before Ashley shut up shop. The top two floors remain vacant, and the Psyche branding can still be seen. Part of the ground floor has recently been converted into a ‘Grand Superstore’. But a quick look around this shop indicated that this isn’t quite the grand superstore that Edward Upton envisaged when he opened his flagship premises in 1920.
Thanks to James Waterson for providing additional research for this article.
