Plans to create shops on the ground floor of a new hotel being created in Leicester have been dropped.
Developers originally wanted to put shop units along the front of the former Fenwick store on the corner of Market Street and Belvoir Street in the city centre.
Fenwick, which took over the store in 1962, closed it in spring of 2017 after saying it had lost custom to the city’s Highcross shopping centre and Fosse Park on the outskirts of Leicester.
Now Leicester City Council has announced it will be investing £450,000 to help the building’s owners create a ground floor suite of offices.
The council says it will work with owners Aimrok Holdings to develop 12,000 square feet of “flexible co-working business workspace”.
It would be used by entrepreneurs, start-up firms and small businesses.
The council will pay for the fit-out and set-up costs of the proposed workspace and then take a 25-year lease on the new space.
The developer will put £350,000 into the workspace as part of its wider £17 million plans to transform the building.
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The firm plans to spend convert the rest of the property into a 121-bedroom hotel with short-stay apartments, including a hotel lobby bar, restaurant and gym together with a series of ground floor and basement commercial units.
The finished project will be called ‘The Gresham’, in a historic nod to the building’s original name.
Aimrok Holdings gained planning consent to fit out the empty four-storey store earlier this summer.
A few months later it dropped plans to incorporate a rooftop bar on top of the landmark building and add 10 penthouse apartments instead.
Aimrok is now finalising the investment required for the overall scheme, and building work is expected to begin in early 2020 with the completion in spring 2021.
Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “The ambitious plans for the redevelopment of the former Fenwick building will bring a huge benefit to other businesses in this part of the city centre.
“Building on the success of our workspaces at LCB Depot, Makers Yard and Dock, this new flexible co-working business space will offer a very attractive option for freelancers and for new and small businesses looking for a city centre base.
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“We’re very excited to be able to play a part in the exciting wider redevelopment plans for this historic and important building.”
Managing director of Aimrok Holdings Andrew Crainey said: “The council are seasoned operators in this particular property class and we believe that this partnership is a substantial step forward in restoring this iconic building to its former glory.
“Facilitating the council’s new workspace and providing the addition of new commercial units alongside a landmark hotel will help in the regeneration of the heart of this city and give confidence to local businesses to further increase the offering that Leicester provides visitors and residents alike.”