The Isle of Man Government-owned Manx Development Corporation (MDC) has completed its first project with the new apartment building opening next month.

Thie Clag - Manx Gaelic for Clock House – is now home to 37 new apartments (20 one-bed and 17 two-bed) plus a commercial unit and Changing Places facility on the ground floor when it opens officially on May 1.

This will be the MDC’s first completed project since the arms-length company was established in 2021.

The scheme has seen the former nurses’ home in Westmoreland Road in Douglas transformed into the new apartments.

This week, Chief Minister Alfred Cannan visited the newly completed redevelopment and was shown around by MDC’s managing director Dane Harrop.

Mr Cannan said: ‘This fantastic project represents a delivery milestone for Our Island Plan on two fronts.

‘The regeneration of brownfield sites has been a strategic priority of this administration from day one together with improving the availability and affordability of housing.

‘I look forward to seeing this development breathe new life into central Douglas.’

Originally 126 individual bedsits for nurses working at Noble’s Hospital, the building was constructed in 1953 as part of the Noble’s Hospital complex but it had fallen into a state of deterioration in recent years.

The £11 million scheme by the Manx Development Corporation (MDC) will provide 37 brand-new apartments alongside a large ground floor commercial unit.

In 2022, the Manx Development Corporation (MDC) submitted plans to redevelop the site as part of its wider mission to restore brownfield locations around the Isle of Man.

Despite early challenges, including asbestos removal and water ingress issues, MDC has now completed the project.

Alongside the residential units, a café is set to open on the ground floor, helping to generate rental income for MDC.