Liverpool One


Liverpool ONE is a shopping, residential, and leisure complex in Liverpool, England. The project involved the redevelopment of 42 acres of land in the city centre. It is a retail-led development anchored by department stores Debenhams and John Lewis, with additional elements including leisure facilities, apartments, offices, public open spaces, restaurants, and transport improvements. The completion of Liverpool ONE significantly boosted the local economy, while lifting Liverpool into the top five most popular retail destinations in the UK.
Liverpool ONE is the largest open-air shopping centre in the UK and the ninth-largest shopping centre overall. Each store was created by a different architect, leading to stark differences between some buildings, one way in which Liverpool ONE differentiates itself from other shopping centres. The majority of the development was opened in phases on 29 May 2008 and 1 October 2008, during Liverpool's year as the European Capital of Culture, whilst the final residential units opened in early 2009. The cost of construction associated with the project was £500 million, with a total investment value of £920 million.

Background

In the summer of 1998, Healey & Baker's Development Team, which is now owned by Cushman & Wakefield, were appointed by Liverpool City Council to conduct a retail study of Liverpool city centre for the replacement Unitary Development Plan. The purpose of the study was to enable the council to identify ways of protecting and improving the city centre and also to find out why the it was perceived as unattractive to high-quality retailers. Cushman & Wakefield's study revealed that Liverpool's reputation as a regional shopping centre was under serious threat, but it also found that a feasible scheme and redevelopment site existed within the heart of the city. Cushman & Wakefield recommended a radical re-development of over, which would represent the largest city centre development in Europe since the post-war reconstruction.
is the largest residential component of Liverpool ONE
is Liverpool ONE's largest hotel
In April 1999, Liverpool City Council passed a resolution for comprehensive redevelopment of the Paradise Street area, calling it the Paradise Project, which consisted of the area bound by Strand Street, the Combined Courts Centre, Lord Street, Church Street, Hanover Street, and Liver Street. The area contained Chavasse Park, the Paradise Street bus station, and NCP Car Park, Quiggins, the Moat House Hotel, Canning Place Fire Station, and BBC Radio Merseyside. There were also large areas of wasteland, some used as car parks. In March 2000, after a series of technical workshops, Liverpool City Council selected the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Group as the developer. The development agreement between the council and Grosvenor was signed in January 2003. As a result of the technical workshops, it became apparent to Cushman & Wakefield that whilst the boundary of the PSDA was appropriate, the boundary needed to be extended and more clearly defined.
Cushman & Wakefield proposed that two Mixed Use Extension Areas be identified to the West and East of the PSDA, including the sites of Chavasse Park/ Canning Place, together with an area across Hanover Street extending into Rope Walks. The Government Office for the North West agreed with Cushman & Wakefield that the Unitary Development Plan needed revisiting and the City Council was understandably reluctant given it had just completed the UDP Inquiry. The proposals were further attacked by a competing scheme. Following further consideration by Members, the revised PSDA Planning Framework incorporating the mixed use extension areas was issued for consultation in May 2000. The Council subsequently resolved to incorporate the PSDA Planning Framework into the emerging Unitary Development Plan. This necessitated a further public inquiry and consultation period. Three years later Cushman & Wakefield secured the Unitary Development Plan changes sought and defeated the opposition's appeal.
In December 2003, Grosvenor selected Laing O'Rourke as construction partner. BDP designed the masterplan for Liverpool ONE which, in 2009, was nominated for the RIBA Stirling Prize. This is the first time a masterplan, rather than one particular building, has been nominated for the prize. The 42 acre site was designed to consist of 1.4 million sq. feet of retail space, a 14-screen multiplex cinema and 230,000 sq. feet of restaurants, cafes and bars in addition to 600 new apartments, two hotels, offices, a five-acre park and a transport interchange. BDP integrated these features and linked the 40 new buildings designed by over 20 different architects.

Construction

Work began in Spring 2004 with the excavation of Chavasse Park, and construction began in Autumn the same year. Early works incorporated archaeological investigations, as Chavasse Park covered the ruins of buildings destroyed in World War II bombing, and the Canning Place car park was on the site of the Old Dock, the world's first wet dock.
The first parts of the development to be completed were the multi-storey car park on Liver Street, and the bus station on Canning Place.
Both opened in November 2005, allowing the old bus station and car park on Paradise Street to be demolished in January 2006.
This cleared the way for construction of the new buildings on the west side of Paradise Street, as the Moat House Hotel had already been demolished in May 2005.
In July 2006, Herbert's Hairdressers became the first business to move into new premises in the development, in his uniquely styled "Bling Bling Building" on Hanover Street. At the same time, BBC Radio Merseyside moved into new premises also on Hanover Street, allowing the demolition of the remaining buildings on Paradise Street. In August 2006, the traditional Topping out ceremony was held on what would become the top floor of the John Lewis store on the corner of Paradise Street and Canning Place.
In March 2007, following the completion of the main underground car park, works on re-instating Chavasse Park started, using polystyrene blocks to build up the height of the park.

Stores and services

With around 170 stores and services, Liverpool ONE is the largest shopping centre in the city, the second largest in North West England and the fifth largest in the United Kingdom.
Liverpool ONE has two anchor stores Debenhams and John Lewis, Liverpool ONE also features the UK's first Pull & Bear. In Summer 2009, the largest Topman/Topshop store outside London opened on Church Street.

ODEON Cinema

The Odeon Liverpool ONE cinema was opened on 1 October 2008 following its relocation from London Road. The new cinema is located within the Liverpool ONE shopping complex on South John Street and with over 3,000 seats and 14 screening rooms, it is the biggest cinema in Liverpool.

Hotels

Liverpool ONE is home to two large hotels. The Hilton Liverpool is a 215-room hotel located at Chavasse Park. It is one of three Hilton hotels in Liverpool and also contains numerous conference rooms, the Exchange Restaurant and the Pima a Cocktail Bar. The 12-storey Novotel on Hanover Street was built between 2007 and 2009 it contains 209 rooms, a gym, swimming pool and the Elements Restaurant and Bar. Alongside the Hilton and Novotel hotels are the BridgeStreet serviced apartments.

The six districts

On 1 November 2005, Grosvenor unveiled Liverpool ONE as the new brand for the regeneration. Liverpool ONE consists of six distinct districts, mixing retail, leisure and accommodation.

Hanover Street

An informal district, re-using old buildings, some formerly derelict, for homeware shops and street markets.

Peter's Lane

Fashion retailers on arcades, streets and squares. Linking the existing Church Street area to the new district. Shops on Peter's Lane include; Ted Baker, Fat Face, Karen Millen, Radley, Ghost, Jigsaw, Cafe Nero and Dune. The entrance to the new district is behind Paradise Street near to Starbucks, John Lewis and the entrance of Waterstones. A separate arcade called "Keys Court" links this area of the development to the traditional shopping heart of Liverpool, Church Street. Along Keys Court, there are shops such as Topshop, Tie Rack and Lollipops Paris.
In October 2011 Harvey Nichols opened a pop up concept of their Foodmarket and Wine Shop for the festive period which closed on 7 January 2012. Since closing the unit has been taken over by French fashion brand The Kooples which is the company's third standalone store outside London after Manchester and Bristol.

New Manesty's Lane

Originally was due to house either a Selfridges or Harvey Nichols store, but was deemed unsuitable for Liverpool ONE. The third anchor unit was then split - half of which is now the city's second and also its flagship branch of Flannels along with the first ever stand alone branch of Ermenegildo Zegna outside London. This unit operates as its own store but backs onto the far left side of Flannels with its own entrance, specialised staff and carrier bags similar to that of Louis Vuitton in Manchester - a store which shares a similar concept. This makes this Flannels more like a Department Store than a regular Flannels store such as seen in the Metquarter. Stores also on this lane include Onitsuka Tiger which is again the first outside London, Croc Shop and also a Fred Perry. Other Retailers such as Muji, Simon Carter, Whistles and Mulberry are reportedly looking for possible sites in NML or the immediate area such as Hanover Street or Peters Lane.
In January 2012, Harvey Nichols Signed for 20,000 sq ft former Habitat Unit for their second small format store in the UK after Birmingham which opened in the Autumn of 2012.

Paradise Street

A wide pedestrianised shopping street, with flagship store John Lewis, also on this street; Pret a Manger, EE, Nike, JD Sports, Apple Store, American Apparel, Starbucks, Waterstones, Urban Outfitters, USC etc.

South John Street

The heart of the new shopping area, two levels of high-street shops and links to the park, with anchor stores John Lewis and Debenhams at each end. There are many shops on South John Street such as 3, Adidas, AllSaints, Ann Summers, The Body Shop, Disney Store, Game, Gap, HMV, Hollister Co., Mango, Monsoon, Pull and Bear, Republic, SportsDirect.com, Vodafone, Zara and Zara Home. Liverpool Football Club opened their second club shop in Liverpool city centre on South John Street, whilst Everton Football Club also opened up a new club shop on the street named 'Everton Two', chosen so that the store's address, "Everton Two, Liverpool ONE", would resemble a football scoreline. The 'Leisure Level' of the South John Street district is home to the Odeon multiplex cinema alongside a number of restaurants, including Barburrito, Café Rouge, Dinomat, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Jungle Rumble Cafe, Las Iguanas, Nando's, Pesto, PizzaExpress, Pizza Hut, Red Hot Buffet, Sblended, Wagamama, Yee Rah, Yo! Sushi, Zizzi.

The Park

A reinstated Chavasse Park, rising in terraces from Strand Street to pavilions on a terrace high above South John Street - this is where the Odeon is located along with Wagamama, Pizza Hut, Yo Sushi!, Café Rouge and other eateries. The conceals a 3,000-space underground car park, accessed by ramps and tunnels from Strand Street. The park is named after member of the Chavasse family, including Noel Chavasse, a local war hero and one of only three holders of the Victoria Cross and Bar.

Point of Arrival

Includes a bus station and a multi-storey car park at the edge of the main shopping district.
The new multimillion-pound Paradise Street Interchange, is a public transport interchange built in November 2005 to replace Paradise Street Bus Station which was demolished to make way for the new Liverpool ONE shopping district.
As one of the first stages of Liverpool ONE scheme and a main access point to the Liverpool ONE shopping centre, the interchange includes ten bus stops each designed to take up to 20 departures an hour serving ten million people a year.

Criticism

The Open Spaces Society has criticised the removal of public rights of way in the development area and fears that universal access to Liverpool's central streets may be denied to citizens in future. However, the streets that make up Liverpool ONE still exercise public rights of way in agreement with the city council, for as long as this agreement stands. Liverpool ONE has not removed any public rights of way, and all streets within Liverpool ONE are subject to the bylaws of the city council in relation to the Highways Act.
The centre has also been criticised for alienating local businesses, and for shifting Liverpool's shopping district. However, the project won a MAPIC Award in 2009.