The site of a former theatre and cinema which screened Glasgow’s first ‘talking picture' is set to be transformed, with plans for over 60 homes.
Construction firm Urban Union and the New Gorbals Housing Association want to build on land between the O2 Academy and Bridge Street Subway station in Laurieston.
It was previously home to the Coliseum Theatre, which became a cinema and then a bingo hall before being demolished after a fire in 2009.
The proposals would see 64 homes created on the Eglinton Street site, with 38 for social rent and 26 for private sale.
The housing association believes Laureston’s “central location makes it the key element in linking Tradeston and Hutchesontown with each other and the city centre, creating a catalyst for investment and increasing housing demand”.
“Critically, it realises the much-needed residential accommodation close to the city centre.”
A takeaway building on the site would need to be demolished before work could begin, and the housing association is currently in talks over purchasing the land on which it stands. Portacabins would also need to be removed.
The social rent homes will be a mix of one, two, three and four bed flats while three will be one and two bedroom private homes.
A community garden and courtyard is also planned if the proposal gets the green light from the council. There would be community rooms too.
New Gorbals Housing Association owns the majority of the land and is working in partnership with Urban Union, which owns an adjoining site to the south.
The Coliseum Theatre was designed by architect Frank Matcham for Moss Empires Ltd and opened in 1905. It screened the city’s first talking picture in 1929.
During the 1960s, it became the first Cinerama cinema in Scotland, the planning application states. The building was unoccupied, after a spell as a bingo hall between 1987 and 2003, when it was engulfed by a fire.
Around 60 firefighters dealt with the blaze, but the theatre was later demolished.
