Next Steps For "Cole Store": The Old John Lewis Site in Barkers Pool

[butlers]

It is well used indeed.

Hard to be there and find nobody.

Anything like a sunny day and there's a couple of  hundred people there.

 

 

[Baron99]

John Lewis to pay back £5 million to SCC. 

https://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/people/breaking-john-lewis-to-pay-ps5m-to-sheffield-council-after-closing-city-store-and-condition-of-building-is-revealed-3486660

[geared]

SCC are up about £1.5m on this deal, so you hope they don't screw this one up.

 

The building itself is an ugly spud, needs pretty substantial renovation and realistically probably won't attract another big name.

Flatten the thing and invite proposals for development.

 

If they faf around they'll most likely end up wasting a ton of money and be left with a giant white elephant that no-one has any use for.

[Bilge]

It's a fairly solid block of a building that would be better upgraded and re-purposed rather than demolished. The hideous red frame thing next door is getting remodelled rather than knocked down.  That's the way to go I would think.

 

It's a period building that we ought to keep anyway. The 1960s wasn't a great period for architecture in Sheff but this was OK.

 

Unless there is some grand plan for the plot which is far better than anything that could be done with the old building I'd retain it.

[bassett one]

why not turn it into a hospital,instead of everyone having to go miles if ill from the south of the city,there used to be a town hospital

[Baron99]

25 minutes ago, bassett one said:

why not turn it into a hospital,instead of everyone having to go miles if ill from the south of the city,there used to be a town hospital

Basically you can't turn what is a retail unit into a hospital.  Hospitals are purposely built to specific architect designs.  You could knock it down & start again but I don't think the building footprint would be big enough, even for a small hospital? 

 

Anyway, there's a new, Radisson Hotel going up just round the corner so there's no chance of such a development.   The site will more likely end up as a new build, being a mixture of residential & retail like most in the city.  A refurb would probably cost too much given the building has an asbestos issue to deal with. 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Baron99

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Remember that SCC own only a leasehold estate. That's what they had purchased from JL and, out of it, they granted JL a new underlease. The latter has now been surrendered back to SCC with a 'reverse' premium of £5m.

 

BUT I doubt that this is where the site's value rests. Whoever is the landlord (reversioner- prob. freeholder) has a far larger stake in the site's value.

[Victor Meldrew]

12 hours ago, Baron99 said:

John Lewis to pay back £5 million to SCC. 

https://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/people/breaking-john-lewis-to-pay-ps5m-to-sheffield-council-after-closing-city-store-and-condition-of-building-is-revealed-3486660

So how long would it have taken JL to lose £5 million by continuing to trade there?

[hackey lad]

Hope they dont just pull it down without any immediate plans to replace it . Otherwise could end up like that massive hole that they had in Bradford for years

[butlers]

Think Nottingham is in a  similar situation with tbe half demolished Broardmarsh centre