The council is being backed by the Homes and Communities Agency in its plans to develop four sites totalling 3.22ha.

The tender covers construction of a new arts centre, 70 new homes and the major refurbishment of Humber Street area for new venues and spaces for arts, cultural and music, new retail, office business growth spaces.

The Fruit Market sits between the Marina and the east bank of the River Hull, offering a unique waterfront location on the Humber estuary.

The procurement notice is published on the YORtender website and pre-qualification questionnaires must be completed no later than Monday 14 August 2013.

Steven Bayes, Portfolio Holder for Visitor Destination and Cultural Strategy, said:  “These are exciting times for Hull and our new City Plan puts cultural regeneration at the heart of the city’s renaissance and the development of the Fruit Market is a key part of that.

“Our vision is to create a vibrant cultural and residential quarter that will bring more people to our stunning waterfront and become a world-class visitor destination.

“With plans for a cruise terminal and international arts centre and our recent success in reaching the shortlist for UK City of Culture 2017, our ambition for Hull and for the Fruit Market is clear.

“To help us achieve our ambition, we wish to work with a Lead Developer Partner to realise the potential of Hull’s Fruit Market.

“The successful bidder team will contain experts in a range of fields including development finance, sustainable building, creative industries, signature architecture and urban master planning.

“They will share our vision for the Fruit Market and for the city and will lead and share the challenge and hard work needed to make it a reality.”

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