Former St Enoch’s Bank and Property to Become 28 New City Centre Flats
Housing association’s multi-million pound plan to revive listed buildings and boost city centre living
By Drew Sandelands, Local Democracy Reporter
Empty upper floors of a listed building in St Enoch Square are set to be turned into 28 flats by a housing association.
Glasgow City Council has received an application to revamp two buildings: a B-listed former bank at 34-36 St Enoch Square and a property at 26-30 St Enoch Square.
A private developer previously secured permission for 26 flats on the site in 2021, but the scheme did not come to fruition.
The housing association announced it had purchased the buildings in a multi-million pound deal last year.
Plans state it is “understood to be the first such application by a registered social landlord that supports Glasgow City Council’s strategy to double the residential population of the city centre by 2035”.
Flats will be available for mid-market rent which is available to households on low to moderate incomes, and are usually cheaper than private rent but more expensive than social housing.
The plans, submitted by MAST Architects on behalf of the housing association, state the “floorplates, formerly in mixed business and commercial uses, were previously combined, and are communally accessed by the entrance doorway to 34 St Enoch Square”.
“The upper floors, historically in use as mixed office and commercial premises by a range of occupants, are now vacant and have been stripped back to a structural shell by the site’s previous owners,” the application adds.
“We believe that it is not sustainable for the building to continue in its current configuration – while the building is being maintained and kept secure by the owner, these empty areas represent a risk to the integrity of the overall building.
“It is neither economically or environmentally sustainable to expect the building’s owner to continue this as a long term strategy for the care and maintenance of the building.
“The buildings urgently require a viable end use and returned to occupation to ensure that they can be protected and conserved.”
External works to the properties would include window replacements, stone repairs and replacement/repair of roof coverings.
Retail units on the ground floor are under separate ownership.
In March last year, the housing association said it had bought the B-listed Station House for conversion to affordable housing. Which consists of two Victorian blocks and was originally built in the 19th century as headquarters for the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company.
At the time, Andrew Kubski, director of development and asset management at WSHA, said the association was thrilled to have acquired the building for its first conversion project.
“We are looking at developing the site into mid-market rent properties which will provide new affordable housing options for residents,” he added.
“We have been supported in this purchase by the city council through the affordable housing supply programme and are delighted to play a part in the council’s strategy to bring people back into Glasgow city centre to ensure the sustainability of the city for the future.”
These flats would be the association’s first mid-market rental properties in the city centre, it said. It has over 140 MMR properties in Dundashill and Dalmarnock.