THE transformation of a historic building will bring a new boutique shopping arcade, sports bar and rooftop street food to Warrington town centre.
Plans to refurbish the former TJ Hughes unit on Sankey Street, which previously housed the Co-op’s department store, were first revealed by the Warrington Guardian last year.
Now the developers behind the multi-million-pound scheme have unveiled more details about their ambitious proposals, with the first of the new businesses in the refurbished site set to open later this month.
Situated on the corner of Cairo Street, the Hive WA1 is billed as a ‘resurgence of one of Warrington’s iconic buildings’.
A renovation of all three of its storeys, covering 80,000sq ft, will ‘convert the building into a one stop destination that will be a busy hive of activity for work and play’.
The ground floor will be transformed into a mall made up of 26 units of between 170sq ft and 2,800 sq ft.
Occupants such as florists, coffee shops, wine merchants, clothing retailers, hairdressers, barbershops, restaurants, bars and jewellers are being sought.
Meanwhile, the Brass Monkey Sports Bar is set to open on the first floor in late April.
It will boast a cocktail bar, shuffleboards, pool tables, live music, DJs and big screens showing sporting events.
This storey will also contain ‘prime’ offices, a co-working area and a gym.
The second floor still houses the original Members Hall from 1910, which is set to be ‘reinvented into a large conference and banqueting facility’.
Inside the Members Hall
Last but not least, a ‘panoramic sky garden with incredible views’ will be created on the roof – with plans including an island bar and four street food kitchens.
It is anticipated that the remaining elements of the scheme will open in the summer and autumn of this year.
A spokesman added: “All in all, it is an exciting project that is sure to become a mecca for hospitality, shopping and office space all under the same roof.”
The building, designed by architect John Douglas and built around 1864 before being largely rebuilt in 1908, was recently advertised for sale at a cost of £1.9million.
It has largely been vacant since TJ Hughes’ closure back in 2011, aside from a brief spell as a Poundland store.
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