A significant milestone has been reached in one of Scotland’s most high-profile city centre development sites.
The 494-room hotel sits on the site of a famous former department store and marks a key moment in the regeneration of the area after two decades.
The Social Hub, part of the £300 million regeneration of Candleriggs Square in Glasgow’s Merchant City, signals a pivotal stage with the opening of the “UK’s first four-star hybrid hospitality location”.
Developed by a joint venture bringing together Drum Property Group and Stamford Investments, the site has marked its first completed building with the highly awaited opening of the “UK’s first The Social Hub – a four-star hybrid hospitality location combining hotel, student & extended stay accommodation, co-working space and leisure facilities”.
The 3.6-acre Candleriggs Square site - bound by Wilson Street, Hutcheson Street, Candleriggs and Trongate - is regarded by many as the last and most important piece of Glasgow’s Merchant City regeneration jigsaw.
Originally home to Glasgow’s flourishing fruit and vegetable market for most of the 20th century the square played host to Goldberg’s before remaining unoccupied for over 20 years.
The developer said the regeneration of the area is now starting to quickly take shape, with the next building to complete on site - the 346-apartment build-to-rent scheme delivered on behalf of Legal & General - forecast for practical completion this summer.
Graeme Bone, group managing director of Drum Property Group, welcomed the completion of The Social Hub Glasgow as heralding an exciting future for Candleriggs Square.
“The development vision we outlined when we first took ownership of the site in 2019 is now starting to come to fruition,” he said.
“Despite many construction and delivery challenges, we are now seeing this vital part of the city centre, which had lain dormant for more than 20 years, beginning to take shape. It’s great to see these spectacular buildings coming out of the ground, bringing people, investment and excitement back into the heart of Glasgow city centre. The opening of The Social Hub Glasgow marks the return of Candleriggs Square to what it once was as part of the city’s rich commercial history – a bustling market-place full of life, vitality and interest, intrinsically linked to the rest of the city centre."
The Social Hub has been reported to be Scotland's largest hotel.
He added: “We can now look forward to more high-quality housing, local amenities and open spaces combining with new pedestrian and access links creating a new sense of place, and making the whole Merchant City more accessible, welcoming and exciting for people living, working and visiting the area.”
The Social Hub Glasgow spans 20,000 square metres and is the result of a £90 million investment. It has space for up to 222 co-workers along with 20 private offices and eight flexible meeting and event spaces totalling 1,500 square metres. There are 494 rooms including dedicated four-star hotel rooms for leisure and business travellers, as well as those for students and extended-stay guests, making it Scotland’s largest hotel by room numbers.
The Social Hub concept is the brainchild of Edinburgh's Charlie MacGregor, who set up the first of what has grown into a portfolio of 23 hubs across Europe, in 2012 in Rotterdam - 18 of which are now open.
Driven by its purpose of creating a better society, The Social Hub is now a pan-European investor, developer, owner and operator of a ‘hybrid’ hospitality model combining hotel accommodation, co-living and co-working spaces with restaurants, bars, conference rooms and fitness facilities, all coupled by pioneering community-centric experiences and social-impact focused programmes.
National tourism body appoints new chief
VisitScotland has appointed a new chief executive.
The country’s national tourism agency has announced that Vicki Miller, its current director of marketing and digital, will move up to the top job. Ms Miller will succeed longstanding boss Malcolm Roughead, who announced he was stepping down earlier this year. Mr Roughead will retire at the end of September after 23 years with the organisation, 14 as chief executive.
'One of the best neighbourhood pubs in city' for sale
A landmark pub in an “outstanding trading location” in an upmarket district of a Scottish city has been put on the market.
Cornerstone Business Agents described the bar and restaurant as “one of the best neighbourhood pubs” in the city. The agent said the “superb and immaculately presented bar opportunity” has a good mix of food and wet sales and commercial kitchen and service areas in a “well-preserved and authentic” pub in Edinburgh.
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