Urban Splash are looking to breath life back into the building that closed last year when John Lewis handed back the lease, hoping to transform it into a mixed-use space for the public to enjoy.
The Council’s Strategy and Resources Committee met on Wednesday 28th June and agreed to proceed into detailed negotiations with the developers who boast a 30-year track record of repurposing listed and iconic buildings.
Images provided by AHMM Archictects
Their work can be seen at Sheffield’s own instantly recognisable Park Hill and with them owning over a million sq. ft of commercial space, elsewhere in the country, it looks promising. They have won more than 460 awards for delivering challenging regeneration projects across the UK.
Mark Latham, Regeneration Director at Urban Splash, said: “We are delighted to be entrusted with the redevelopment of the Cole Brothers building. We know how important this building is to so many Sheffielders and look forward to sharing and developing our ideas for its future together with the city.
At the centre of their proposal, is an ambition to re-establish the building as a place to meet, eat and shop, with the ground floor filled with lively retail, food and drink and the upper floors providing flexible workspace for Sheffield’s growing business base.
Images provided by AHMM Archictects
The plans will see Barker’s Pool and Cambridge Street entrances opened up to allow for outdoor on-street dining areas, similar to the popular seating introduced on Division Street.
Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council and Chair of the Strategy and Resource Committee, said: “Sheffield city centre is on the up. We are creating a city centre that is a great place to relax, shop, work, eat and drink. Urban Splash have put forward an exciting proposal to reimagine a much-loved building and I can’t wait to see it come back to life.”
It is hoped that the transformed building will offer a wealth of opportunities for employment and create a vibrant destination which complements the ongoing work in the Heart of the City. With the company headquartered in Manchester, with regional bases in Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, Sheffield, Cambridgeshire and Plymouth, they have invested a billion pounds creating more than 6,000 new homes and jobs in over two million sq ft of commercial space.
Images provided by AHMM Archictects
Simon Allford, co-founder of AHMM Architects, said: “My connections with Sheffield, and this building, run deep and far back. My family is from the city, my father was born there, and we both studied architecture at the University of Sheffield.
“While I often visit Sheffield for personal reasons (and, of course, the football), I am looking forward to working in the city to help the client team reinvent this Sheffield icon, which was designed over sixty years ago by a son of Sheffield, my father David Allford!”- Simon Allford, co-founder of AHMM Architects.
Detailed negotiations will now commence between the Council and Urban Splash and further details regarding the project will be shared in due course.
