£ 300 million plan reaches ‘ significant’ milestone

A £ 300 MILLION plan to develop Glasgow’s Merchant City has reached a “significant” milestone.

Work has been ongoing for the last five years to regenerate Candleriggs Square by building 346 build- to- rent apartments and The Social Hub, a four- star hotel combined with student accommodation, working spaces and leisure facilities.

Following the completion of the £ 90m hotel – claimed to be Scotland’s biggest – in April, developers Drum Property Group and Stamford Investments are preparing to complete the apartments.

The 3.6- acre Candleriggs Square site has lain derelict for many years, historically hosting the city’s fruit and veg market and then a department store until the closure of the last operator in 1999.

Graeme Bone, Drum’s managing director, said:

“The development vision we outlined when we first took ownership of the site in 2019 is now starting to come to fruition. 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 marketplace full of life, vitality and interest, intrinsically linked to the rest of the city centre.”

Spanning 20,000 square metres, The Social Hub boasts 494 rooms including four- star rooms for leisure and business travellers, rooms for students and extended- stay guests and 20 private offices.