Next Steps Moving Forward For Old John Lewis Site

[Longcol 598]

7 hours ago, bassett one said:

why not turn it into a hospital,instead of everyone having to go miles if ill from the south of the city,there used to be a town hospital

The Hallamshire isn't exactly far from town. 

[northernboy 13]

I’m fairly sure it will end up getting demolished, given the projected cost of refurbishment. https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/john-lewis-sheffield-staggering-ps70m-cost-of-repairing-building-revealed-as-experts-recommend-demolition-3489166
 

what the space will be used for is only limited by imagination

[Cyclecar 24]

I didn't realsie that it was as old as 1962. As we have come to learn, concrete 'block' structures of that era have not fared well. The Tinsley viaduct saga is an example, albeit not configured like John Lewis. Two issue that have been identified are the asbestos, which was quite a normal building material then, and the weakening car park which has loading issues and needs reinforcement. One reason JL gave up on the building is its relatively low ceiling height, which precludes retro-fitting air conditioning - so much easier to incorporate if starting from scratch.

 

So, after just 60 years it looks like it's going to be dropped. It's ironic that Sheffield has many fine and useful buildings built some 200 years ago, using local stone and traditional methods. 

 

Yes, it could be reconfigured as a small hospital - but at what cost - £40/60million? And the traffic issues would be horrendous.  Car parking at the RHH and NGH sites is chaotic for staff and visitors, it would be many times worse in the city centre.  Please don't post that everyone should come in on the bus........

 

It begs a separate thread - does Sheffield need another hospital, if so where should it be sited? There's not a lot of 'free' land within the city limits to build something like Calow with its wide open spaces.

[Bilge 34]

Demolish and build something for a variety of uses like the example in Norwich maybe:

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/heart-of-the-city-ii-proposed-phases.2134370/page-49

 

[saywhatnow 33]

I personally think bringing the building down would help bring all the recent and ongoing redevelopment together

[Bilge 34]

It only looks like a reasonable building on the front facing the City Hall. The other 3 sides don't offer anything. Overall I think we need to get rid and build something exciting for the city which complements the surrounding streets. Personally JL was mostly a waste of space for me. It was no use at all to anyone at night when it was shut, and now it's permanently shut.

 

Many years after the 7-Stone weakling nonsense and all that embarrassing kowtowing to John Lewis, we now find ourselves in a great position to provide something fabulous on a big key site in the city.

 

A big indoor event space complemented by smaller units offering art/heritage/culture/retail/food etc. I'd personally love to see it also capable of hosting standing-only concerts that are bigger than the Leadmill capacity but smaller than the City Hall (say 1500+). 

 

We can take inspiration from other places such as Norwich:

https://theforumnorwich.co.uk/about-us

 

But it could also be a taller building that offers much more than that and helps pay for the community stuff. 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Bilge

[Bilge 34]

1873-1937 the site was the Albert Hall:

https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/topic/679-the-albert-hall/

 

Burnt down in 1937, then presumably an empty space until Cole's/JL arrived in 1962.

[Baron99 779]

Well there is apparently to be a public consultation to decide what to do with the JL site. 

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/sheffields-former-john-lewis-store-set-for-demolition

 

Total demolition is of course the cheapest option. "At between £12.8 million and 15.3 million, demolition to make way for a park is the cheapest solution. The cost is based on 70 per cent of the area being soft landscaping and trees, with the remainder hard landscaping." 

 

Given that SCC are already talking about a new city centre park, Pounds Park, between Carver St & Rockingham St, it doesn't take much imagination to see two small parks joining up, to make a much larger central park?  Of course, a stone's throw away, there's also Devonshire Green as well. 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Baron99

[geared 303]

15 million to demo the building?

[Bilge 34]

A park would be a waste of space. There's already a shabby bit of green space on Barker's Pool that few people use (because it's horrible). 

[butlers 259]

That's quite some logic

[ECCOnoob 1,021]

3 hours ago, geared said:

15 million to demo the building?

It's a large amount of course but not surprising.

 

Firstly the JL building is going to be filled with asbestos and other nasties used back in the day in its construction which can only be removed very very carefully by specialists charging specialist level fees.

 

Then there is the demolition itself which is going to have to be done piecemeal given the building is surrounded by actively working offices, businesses and construction sites. Its not a simple job of just loading it  up with TNT and imploding it.  It will take months of painstaking work from large teams to bring it down piece by piece. They all come with an hourly rate along with daily charges for their plant.

 

Those costs soon rack up when you break it down

Edited December 14, 2021 by ECCOnoob