The city's long-vacant British Home Stores shop is set to be brought back to life after a property developer bought a significant chunk of St Stephens Street.
Evolve Estates, a Mayfair-based property company, said it had purchased 160,000sqft of retail and office space across St Stephens Street, Queens Road, and Surrey Street.
The firm’s newly acquired units - which span 9-73 St Stephens Street - include WHSmith, Sainsbury’s and Specsavers, as well as the former home of BHS.
The site has been empty since August 2016, apart from an 18-month period starting in December 2017, when Primark moved into the unit while its Gentleman’s Walk shop was under renovation.
Joe O’Keefe, a partner at Evolve, added that the purchase “presented multiple improvement opportunities”, and that the firm was already in negotiations to fill the empty unit.
READ MORE: What comes next for St Stephens Street in Norwich?
He said: “The site is fantastically located, in a busy part of the city centre, close to the bus station and the main shopping area.
“The St Stephens Street area is a key gateway to the city centre and benefits from a high number of visitors and because St Stephens Street has been redeveloped by the council, we can see there is considerable scope to put in different plans to enhance the site.
“We’d love to speak to local, independent retailers who are interested in expanding or moving to new premises there.”
The property group M Core, which owns Evolve Estates, has invested more than £160m over 12 months in 25 retail centres across the country.
Major acquisitions have included Grosvenor Shopping Northampton, Parc y Llyn in Aberystwyth, and the Viking Centre in Jarrow.
Mr O’Keefe added: “Our strategy is simple: we invest in our retail sites, making the necessary improvements to enhance them and make them more attractive to both potential tenants and to the local communities who use them.”
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