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Address Centre Management Suite, 1 Leith St, Edinburgh EH1 3SS, UK Similar John Lewis, Waverley Mall, Ocean Terminal, Debenha, House of Fraser Princes S | ||
The St. James Centre, now St. James Shopping, was a shopping centre next to the former New St. Andrew House office building for the Scottish Office, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was initially designed by Burke Martin Partnership in 1964 but was completed by architects Ian G Cooke and Hugh Martin of Hugh Martin & Partners after Martin's partnership with Ian Burke ceased in 1969.
The Brutalist architecture of the government offices, atop the shopping centre, made it one of Edinburgh's most unloved buildings, but the shopping centre was a popular and busy shopping location. All of the Shops in the centre with the exception of John Lewis closed in 2016 in preparation for demolition which has since commenced, work on extensions to John Lewis has also begun.
The centre had over 60 stores, cafés, restaurants and a food court. Until recently it boasted many popular stores such as River Island, Burton, Wallis, Next, Sports Direct, JD Sports, Subway, Game and Dorothy Perkins.
Redevelopment
An £850m redevelopment of the St. James Centre has been proposed by its owners, Henderson Global Investors, involving the construction of new shops, a public square, two hotels and new apartments. The existing 1973 building would be completely demolished to make way for a three-storey, glass-roofed, crescent-shaped building designed by Allan Murray Architects. Edinburgh City Council planners gave the plans approval in July 2015 despite objections from conservation groups concerned about the possible impact on the city's World Heritage status.
Construction work was expected to start in 2015 and it was anticipated the retail elements would be completed by late 2016, but the start has been delayed with all shops in the existing centre continuing to trade in January 2016. In November 2015 it was reported that the centre would close in late 2016 and that an agreement had been reached with John Lewis which will see the current John Lewis store remain open throughout work on the new scheme and a refurbished department store as part of the finished St James development.
On Saturday 15 October, The Edinburgh Evening News reported that the St James Centre will close its doors on Sunday 16 October with demolition work to begin within weeks. The project is due to be completed by 2020.