The Block

The Block, a photo by LLAP Dorset on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Royal Navy Dockyard (closed) Portland Weymouth Dorset.

The blocks were built as barracks/accommodation for the use of Royal Navy personnel. However, they were only in use for a short time before the Royal Navy left Portland in 1995, causing the blocks to become a victim of vandalism once derelict. A little while into the new millennium and plans were put forward by the Government to house several hundred immigrants, but major negative response from the local area caused these plans to be withdrawn.
In 2006 the abandoned blocks were eventually purchased by brothers Luke and Brian Comer, who planned to turn the barracks into luxury apartments via a £100 million scheme. Construction work began for the right block in 2007 and were largely completed by June 2008. The block, named Ocean Views, includes 554 apartments ranging from £169,000 to penthouses for £605,000. Reportedly, 2,500 inquiries for the apartments were made in only days after the apartments was publicised. The left block remains derelict today, awaiting construction, whilst the Comer brothers rank Portland as being one of their most important sites, where they also have sites located in New York, Belgium and London.
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