New Edinburgh St James development to be anchored by John Lewis
John Lewis has agreed terms to anchor the revamped St James shopping centre in Edinburgh.
Having secured planning approval in July, TH Real Estate said work on the 1970’s shopping centre will see the current site replaced with 850,000 square feet of retail space, a multi-screen cinema and a hotel. Construction work is expected to commence on site in early 2016
The agreement will see the current John Lewis store remain open throughout work on the new scheme and the retailer will operate a fully refurbished department store as part of the finished St James development.
To include up to 85 shops and 30 catering units, the new St James is expected to attract a range of operators including boutique and independent stores, high street retailers, high end names, as well as international retailers looking to expand into the UK.
Jeremy Collins, property director at John Lewis, said: “We’re delighted to have reached agreement with TH Real Estate for these exciting development proposals at the St James Centre. John Lewis prides itself on providing an excellent shopping experience to its customers, and we will continue to work closely with the developers to ensure that disruption to our shop is minimised where possible as work progresses. We look forward to our shop’s full refurbishment being part of Edinburgh’s improved retail experience.”
Edinburgh St James will also create up to 3,000 permanent jobs and up to 5,000 jobs during the construction period, with completion anticipated for 2020.
Martin Perry, director of development at TH Real Estate, said: “The signing of the John Lewis deal is an important milestone and we are delighted that they will anchor the scheme, in addition to remaining open for business throughout construction. It has always been our ambition to deliver a world class destination for Scotland and this important piece of the jigsaw brings us ever closer to starting on site in spring next year.”
