PLANS are being drawn up to have the Union Street fire site back in use before the end of this year, with archietcts appointed.
Work on the site is progressing and a temporary use for the site following the fire in March will be in place.
Space for the businesses that were displaced, a public event area, temporary retail and leisure are all being considered.
A "Boxpark style" development with shops and bars could be installed while a permanent solution is found.
Glasgow City Council through the Union Street Recovery Group has appointed architects to produce a design concept for a ‘meanwhile use’ for the site.
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, told the Glasgow Times it was a sign of the willingness to make progress on returning the site to active use.
She said the council and the owners are keen to have meaningful activity on the site as soon as possible.
Central Station, Union Street and Gordon Street are due to be re-opened fully this month and before the Commonwealth Games start on July 23.
Safety hoardings, like those around George Square, will be erected around the gap site and some of it in use before Christmas.
O’Donnell Brown architects have been appointed to produce potential designs within three to four months.
It is expected that a 'meanwhile use' will be in place for up to three years.
Aitken said: “The final and permanent development of the fire site will take time but neither the council nor the owners are prepared to see such a crucial city centre space lie empty while that takes shape.
“Finding an appropriate ‘meanwhile’ use for the site, which doesn’t simply mask the damage but actually attracts people back to this part of the Central Station quarter, is going to be vitally important to support its ongoing recovery.”
“The idea is that it will be something quite dynamic, quite flexible. It might be delivered in phases. It will be potentially a combination of different uses."
Aitken said it avoids a similar situation to the gap site in Sauchiehall Street following the Victoria’s nightclub fire in 2018.
She said: “It is in contrast to the Victoria's site, where there are ongoing legal issues between the multiple owners there, which have meant we've not been able to move on that.
“We also have the advantage of having some money to use from the Scottish Government, which has been extremely helpful.
Aitken said the brief included ensuring something can be put on the site quickly.
She said: “Speed of deliverability is one of the criteria that we've asked for because there's no point in us having something that then takes years to put in place.”
David Cook, chief executive of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, said: “It is great to see the meanwhile use proposals progress.
“Everyone in the city wants to see this site reactivated as soon as possible. The long-term solution will inevitably take time due to the complexities and multiple ownerships, so getting life back into this vital part of the city centre before that will be welcomed by all Glaswegians.”
He pointed to sites in other places as examples of what is being looked at.
He said: “There are comparators on temporary uses, which using things like shipping containers, or in London, a few done by Boxpark, which people know about up here because they've got a visibility.
“I don't think anyone's saying that's what's going to happen, but it has aspects of commerce and has aspects of events and social things going on.”
Susan Aitken added: “There's some of these kind of developments in London and elsewhere where they've used the Boxpark type things.
“The top of them is used as a gathering space, an event space, or like the equivalent of a rooftop bar type thing. I think there's a lot of potential for different uses and something potentially quite exciting.”
“We're still to see those designs and we still need to look at what's deliverable and what's possible. But our minds are very open to the art of the possible for this space.”
