TH Real Estate has been granted planning permission by the City of Edinburgh council for the hotel element of its £850m mixed-use Edinburgh St James scheme.
The 210-bedroom hotel will sit alongside 750,000 sq ft of retail and leisure development.
The hotel’s approval is the last major planning decision to be taken by the City of Edinburgh council regarding the scheme.
Jestico + Whiles designed the hotel as a bundle of “coiled ribbons”, and it will include restaurants, bars and a rooftop terrace.
In July, the City of Edinburgh council approved primary reserved matters, secondary reserved matters and a John Lewis detailed application for the 1.7m sq ft Edinburgh St James project, designed by Edinburgh-based Allan Murray Architects.
The redevelopment will see the 1970s shopping centre replaced with 850,000 sq ft of retail space, up to 250 homes, 30 restaurants and a multi-screen cinema as well as the hotel.
Subject to the successful resolution of the CPO, scheduled for September, the team will work towards a January vacant possession of the St James Centre. This will enable demolition works to begin onsite in early 2016, with completion expected in 2020.
TH Real Estate’s director of development, Martin Perry, said: “The hotel’s iconic design has already generated interest from global hotel operators and today’s decision to approve our proposals takes us one step closer to starting work on site next year and to delivering the development.”
