Artisan Real Estate Investors have just announced the plans to transform one of Glasgow’s most significant waterfront development sites into a thriving hotel and leisure quarter. The company has submitted a pre-application to Glasgow City Council to develop the Custom House site, which links Buchanan Street with the River Clyde waterfront.
The £90 million project will expand over an area of 2,700 square metres, which includes the historic sandstone Grade A-Listen Custom House and its former stable block, as well as two adjacent tenement buildings on the corner of Clyde Street and Dixon Street. The Clayton Hotel will be a four star development with 300 bedrooms, a bar, restaurant, and conference facilities. An additional 150 room aparthotel is also planned for the adjacent buildings.
“For too long, the imposing Custom House with its distinctive Greek revival frontage and its neighbouring tenements had become the forgotten segment of the city’s waterfront, having lain mostly vacant for the best part of a decade. We are now in a position to bring these wonderfully characterful buildings back to life, introducing established boutique hotel and aparthotel brands, which will fill the area with energy and life throughout the day and evening,” said Clive Wilding, Artisan’s project director.
Glasgow’s Custom House opened in 1840 and it represented a link from the Clyde quayside to the city centre. The double height first floor, fronted by classically styled Doric columns, will form the heart of the new conference centre for the Clayton Hotel. The wider area, including Custom House Quay, Custom House Gardens, and Carrick Quay will be turned into an extension to the retailing and commercial activities within the city along the riverside.
The Custom House project will be delivered by a subsidiary of Artisan Real Estate Investors – Artisan St. Enoch Quarter Limited – and the architects will be Glasgow-based Sheppard Robson. The completion date is set for mid-2020.
