Urban Splash has been selected as preferred bidder for the redevelopment of Sheffield’s former Cole Brothers building, with AHMM working as part of the team on the proposals. The plans will transform the building into a mixed-use space with substantial areas of the building reopening for the public. At the core of the proposal is an ambition to re-establish the building as a place to meet, eat and shop in the city centre, with the ground floor filled with lively retail, food and drink and the upper floors providing flexible workspace for Sheffield’s growing business base. The transformed building will offer a wealth of opportunities for employment and create a vibrant destination which complements the ongoing work in the Heart of the City.

Following a marketing process led by CBRE, six proposals were received and considered. The Council’s Strategy and Resources Committee met on Wednesday 28th June and unanimously agreed to proceed into detailed negotiations with the developers.

AHMM’s Simon Allford, who has a particular connection to the building and its history, said “The refurbishment of the Grade 2 Listed Cole Brothers building is perhaps the key project in the ongoing reinvigoration of the Sheffield city centre. We have worked with the Urban Splash team for many years and we look forward to collaborating with both them and the City of Sheffield.

“My connections with Sheffield, and this building, run deep and far back. My family is from the city, my father was born there, and we both studied architecture at the University of Sheffield. While I often visit Sheffield for personal reasons (and, of course, the football), I am looking forward to working in the city to help the client team reinvent this Sheffield icon, which was designed over sixty years ago by a son of Sheffield, my father David Allford!”