TH Real Estate has been granted planning permission by the city of Edinburgh council for its £850m mixed-use Edinburgh St James project.
This marks a major milestone for this transformational development, which is one of the largest regeneration projects currently under way in the UK and for which the company has been working up plans since 2008.
The council’s planning committee has approved Primary Reserved Matters, Secondary Reserved Matters and a John Lewis detailed application for the 1.7m sq ft development project.
The approved designs, by Edinburgh-based Allan Murray Architects, will see the 1970s shopping centre currently on site replaced with 750,000 sq ft of retail space, a 210-bed luxury hotel, up to 250 new homes, 30 restaurants and a multi-screen cinema.
TH Real Estate has also appointed Cushman & Wakefield to find an investment partner, and is looking to explore the sale of as much as a 50% share in the scheme, where cash raised will help the fund manager to finance the project.
Subject to the successful resolution of the Compulsory Purchase Order scheduled for September, the project team is working towards a January vacant possession of the St James Centre, to enable demolition works to begin on-site in early 2016.
Edinburgh St James is anticipated to complete in 2020.
