St. James Centre

{{short description|Former shopping centre in Edinburgh, Scotland}} {{About|the former St. James Centre|its replacement|St James Quarter}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} thumb|St James Shopping Centre - main entrance on Leith Street (now demolished) The '''St. James Centre''', later re-branded as '''St. James Shopping''', was a shopping centre next to the former New St. Andrew House office building for the Scottish Office, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was initially designed by Burke Martin Partnership in 1964 but was completed by architects Ian G Cooke and Hugh Martin of Hugh Martin & Partners after Martin's partnership with Ian Burke ceased in 1969.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|url=http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=400352|accessdate=26 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|url=http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=402432|accessdate=26 January 2012}}</ref>

The Brutalist architecture of the government offices, atop the shopping centre, made it one of Edinburgh's most unloved buildings, but the shopping centre was a popular and busy shopping location. All of the shops in the centre, with the exception of the John Lewis department store, closed in 2016 in preparation for demolition, which has since been completed; work on extensions to John Lewis has also been completed.

The centre had over 60 stores, cafés, restaurants and a food court. In the 2010s, it boasted many popular stores such as River Island, Burton, HMV, Wallis, Next, Sports Direct, JD Sports, Subway, Game and Dorothy Perkins. thumb|Side entrance on Elder Street (now demolished)

==Redevelopment==

An £850m redevelopment of the former shopping centre, New St. Andrew's House office and hotel by its owners, Nuveen Real Estate, was undertaken. The existing 1973 building was demolished, making way for a three-storey, glass-roofed, crescent-shaped building designed by Allan Murray Architects.<ref>{{cite web|title=Edinburgh St James|url=http://www.ama-ltd.co.uk/edinburgh-st-james.html|website=Allan Murray Architects|accessdate=23 January 2016}}</ref> Edinburgh City Council planners gave the plans approval in July 2015 despite objections from conservation groups concerned about the possible impact on the city's World Heritage status.<ref>{{cite news|last1=GOURTSOYANNIS|first1=Paris|title=St James development gets go-ahead from councillors|url=http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/st-james-development-gets-go-ahead-from-councillors-1-3818052|accessdate=23 January 2016|publisher=Edinburgh Evening News|date=2 July 2015}}</ref>

Construction work was expected to start in 2015 with completion of the retail elements by 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edinburghstjames.com/thevision.html|title=The Vision - Edinburgh St James|publisher=TIAA Henderson Real Estate|date=2014-07-21}}</ref> In November 2015 it was reported that the centre would close in late 2016 and that an agreement had been reached with the John Lewis, with the store remain open throughout work on the scheme and a refurbished department store as part of the finished St James development.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Edinburgh St James development to be anchored by John Lewis|url=http://www.theretailbulletin.com/news/new_edinburgh_st_james_development_to_be_anchored_by_john_lewis_16-11-15/|website=The Retail Bulletin|accessdate=23 January 2016|date=18 November 2015}}</ref>

On 15 October 2016, the ''Edinburgh Evening News'' reported that the St James Centre would close its doors on 16 October 2016, with demolition work to begin within weeks.

The new St James Quarter (initially named '''Edinburgh St James''') replacement was due to be completed by 2020, with the hotel opening in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/edinburgh/articles/virgin-opening-first-uk-hotel-edinburgh/|title = Virgin is opening its first hotel outside the US in Edinburgh|newspaper = The Telegraph|date = 6 February 2018|last1 = Cranshaw|first1 = Rachel}}</ref> The replacement opened in its first phase in June 2021, with additional stores and a cinema opening in 2022. The hotels opened later in 2023, due to small delays in its construction as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rli.uk.com/edinburgh-st-james-re-brands-project/|title = Edinburgh St. James Re-brands Project|date = 4 September 2020}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|St. James Centre, Edinburgh}} *[http://www.edinburghstjames.com Edinburgh St James development]

Category:Shopping centres in Edinburgh Category:2016 disestablishments in Scotland Category:Defunct shopping centres in the United Kingdom