A £50million project to redevelop a disused Plymouth city centre department store into student flats and a hotel will see its first tenants move in by the autumn 2019.
Construction specialist EHA Group has been working on the huge former Derrys store, in the centre of Plymouth, since mid 2017.
Developer Thames Bank Property, which is behind the huge project, is now confident that about 350 of the planned 500 student flats will be ready by the time the academic year starts in September.
And it is even expected that the first ground-floor commercial tenant, a relocated Ryman stationery outlet, will be trading by August 5.
It is one of seven new retail and leisure units being created in the 224,536sq ft building, on a site sandwiched by Royal Parade and New George Street, which will now be called Plymouth Cross.
The block is seen as central to the regeneration of Plymouth’s West End and will contain a range of commercial units that can be configured to suit individual requirements.
The reopened building is expected to attract shops, cafes and restaurants into street level outlets ranging in size from about 1,300sq ft to 4,000sq ft.
Plymouth Cross will also be home to a 110-room Premier Inn, in addition to the 500 “high-end” students rooms, which will be let by leading student accommodation provider Homes for Students.
More than half the 64,000sq ft of retail and leisure is already let to occupiers including Argos, Ryman and Premier Inn’s Thyme restaurant.
In early 2017 it was reported that KFC was interested in moving in to Plymouth Cross, though it is understood nothing has been finalised.
To create enough internal light for the 500 student flats, three large vertical spaces have been opened up from the roof down through former sales floors, to create courtyards in the centre of the building.
Demolition experts cut through steel beams and concrete floors in the first, second and third floors, and the roof, to create the spaces.
Steel is being aligned around the base of the shafts so new walls will be created, with glass balconies.
Students in the inside flats will then have enough light and can look out on to the courtyards, which will have plants and seating.
The flats range in size from 14.6sq metres to “super-deluxe” 32sq metre. The “Classic En-suite” comes with a three-quarter sized bed, mirror, storage and a study desk and chair. There is a fully fitted en-suite containing a large shower and modern-looking fittings.
The student block will have everything... except a bar. The basement will contain a gym, and there will be a 50-seat cinema. Students will enjoy four square metres of communal space each – four times the national average.
Students will have up to 200Mbps wifi, a communal dining area and communal games room and courtyard. All utility bills will be included.
An extra four stories are being built on top of the rear of the building, to house the hotel. It is mainly being sited in what was once the Rileys snooker centre, in the Courtenay Street area.
Developers are pushing Plymouth City Council to remodel the pedestrian crossing at the west end of Royal Parade, to make it easier for visitors to the Theatre Royal to cross towards the building.
The 1950s Derry’s department store closed in 2010 and lay empty until it was bought by London-based Thames Bank Property Company in 2015 for an undisclosed sum.
After receiving planning consent staff from Northern Ireland-based EHA moved into the building in May 2017.
