PLANS have been unveiled for a £90 million Glasgow waterfront hotel and leisure development.
Artisan Real Estate Investors, the partnership behind Edinburgh’s New Waverley project, has submitted a pre-application notice to Glasgow City Council to develop the Custom House site, which links the city’s Buchanan Street with the River Clyde waterfront.
The proposals include the sandstone Grade A-Listed Custom House and its former stable block, together with two adjacent tenement buildings. Artisan bought the site in August and agreed a leasing deal with the Dalata Hotel Group in November to bring Scotland’s first Clayton Hotel to the Custom House – a four-star development including 300 bedrooms, a bar, restaurant and conference facilities. A 150-room aparthotel is also planned for the adjacent tenement buildings, together with street level bars and restaurants.
Artisan’s project director Clive Wilding said, “This is a hugely significant opportunity to, once again, bring Glasgow’s burgeoning waterfront area back into the vibrant heart of its city centre. For too long, the imposing Custom House with its distinctive Greek revival frontage and its neighbouring tenements had become the forgotten segment of the city’s waterfront, having lain mostly vacant for the best part of a decade. We are now in a position to bring these wonderfully characterful buildings back to life, introducing established boutique hotel and aparthotel brands, which will fill the area with energy and life throughout the day and evening.
“We will now work with our partners to create a flagship regeneration project for the city, providing a seamless link from the Clyde waterfront to the St Enoch Centre transport hub and Buchanan Street – part of Glasgow’s ‘style mile’ and generally regarded as the best shopping street outside of London.”
Custom House opened in 1840 and provided a direct link from the Clyde quayside to the city centre. The building underwent internal modifications in 1873 carried out by renowned local architect Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson.
The building was more recently occupied by the Procurator Fiscal’s office until 2007. The neighbouring former tenement buildings were home to a department store in the 1960s as well as other small businesses.
Architects on the project will be Glasgow-based Sheppard Robson. Following a consultation exercise, a detailed planning application is expected to be submitted in spring 2018.
