Major plans to transform Manchester’s iconic Kendals building into a high-end office development have been recommended for approval.
Banking giant Investec wants to breathe new life into the Grade II listed building by moving it away from the retail sector it has served for 82 years.
The site on Deansgate, which is currently occupied by the struggling House of Fraser department store, would be converted to provide open plan offices over seven floors.
A proposed central atrium will see two of two of the ten original Art Deco column heads removed, while the roof would be extended and the building’s glass blocks removed.
Investec wants to demolish the neighbouring Fraser building and the multi-storey car park on King Street West to build a 14-storey office block.
The building would boast around 50,000 sq ft of retail space as well as improvements to the surrounding public realm.
Across the development it is expected to create more than 6,600 jobs in the construction phase and also when the offices are in use.
Manchester council’s planning committee has been asked to approve the scheme at a meeting on Thursday, June 3.
A report prepared by planning officers says: “The proposal would have a positive impact on the regeneration of this part of the city centre, contribute to the supply of Grade A office accommodation, provide significant investment in the city centre supporting the economy, and create both direct and indirect employment.
“A convincing, well considered approach to the conversion, repurposing and extension of the Grade II listed Kendals building and the design, scale, architecture and appearance of the new Fraser building has resulted in a high quality development that would make a positive contribution to the streetscene.”
The development would mark the end of House of Fraser’s presence on Deansgate, with the company - which is in administration - deemed to be an ‘unviable occupier’ given the decline of High Street retailers coupled with the hammer blow dealt to the sector by Covid-19.
Documents submitted with the planning application suggest that several floors of the Kendals building were unoccupied even before the pandemic began.
But a small handful of objectors to the scheme dispute there being a ‘lack of demand’ for a department store of the scale of House of Fraser to occupy the building.
“The assessment that retail and the high street are dead, is premature,” one objector said.
“[Investec] should provide evidence that big UK department stores like John Lewis, Fenwicks and Hoopers have been courted.”
Among the five objections questions have also been asked about the need for more Grade A office space given the move to home working during the pandemic.
The council has also been urged to protect the original design of the Art Deco building and to ‘preserve what is left of the fabric of one of the most important cities in Europe’.
An objector said: “ If this was a new building I would support its construction. However, to transform a timeless classic into a soulless new office block would be a historical mistake.”
In a statement released earlier this year, Investec finance boss Mickey Nurtman hailed the scheme as ‘significant’.
"We are proud to be leading on a scheme that protects and celebrates an iconic building like Kendals, ensuring it remains a focal point of Deansgate for many years to come,” he said.
"This is a major investment in the city of Manchester – it will create and retain jobs, and contribute to the region's post-Covid economic recovery."
Although the Kendals store first took its name when it was bought by business partners Kendal, Milne & Faulkner in 1836, the current extension was purpose built to be a department store in 1939.
The store was bought by Harrods in 1919 and briefly took on the famous Harrods before being changed back to Kendals. It was later bought out by House of Fraser in 1959.
