At its heart is the former Vaux site, now home to new landmark buildings such as City Hall, Maker & Faber and The Beam.
But, it once lay empty for years after the closure of the brewery in 1999.
Supermarket giant Tesco bought the 26-acre site in 2001 to trigger a decade of legal wrangling over its future use.
It was eventually purchased in 2011 by Sunderland City Council with Tesco deciding instead to build a new branch north of the water in Roker Avenue.
We take a look at those ten years and how the site has changed, with photos taken by Echo photographers over the years.
1. End of an era
The Vaux brewery which once dominated the skyline closed in July 1999, bringing to an end almost two centuries of brewing in the city. Frank Nicholson is pictured here with workers on the final day. | Sunderland Echo
2. The early 2000s
Hard to imagine this was how the site was left in the early 2000s. | Sunderland Echo
4. Prime land
How the site looked when it was cleared to make way for the developments we see today, including The Beam, City Hall and Maker & Faber. | Sunderland Echo