Urban Splash has been selected as the preferred bidder for the former Cole Brothers building. The company proposes to transform the building into a mixed-use space with substantial areas of the building reopening for the public. At the core of their vision is an ambition is to re-establish the building as a place to meet, eat and shop in the city centre, with the ground floor filled with lively retail, food and drink and the upper floors providing flexible workspace for Sheffield’s growing business base.
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.This scheme bears all of the hallmarks of an Urban Splash project; from Park Hill, to similar urban and civic listed buildings in cities all across England, our portfolio is filled with award-winning schemes that have been transformed through working with an original building, keeping the best of the old , while adding new design ideas and new life. We will adopt a similar approach in our plans for Cole Brothers – engaging with local people as we immerse ourselves in the heritage and emotional connections many have here. There’s a lot of hard work ahead, but we are excited to get started as we take on another Sheffield icon.”
The developers plan to keep the existing car park structure but with fewer parking spaces for use by the tenants of the building only. 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.
Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council and Chair of the Strategy and Resource Committee, said:“Breathing new life into the Cole Brothers building is an important part of the ongoing regeneration of the city centre and it is fantastic to have taken this next step forward. The plans promise to deliver an exciting and desirable destination for people to visit, not just Sheffielders but further afield too - attracting people from all over to see for themselves how wonderfully unique our city is.We’re so pleased to see high-quality developers showing significant interest in Sheffield and I am excited for what the future holds for the city centre.”
