After major stone repair work, an historic building on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street unwrapped the scaffolding to reveal its new façade to shoppers.

Occupied by luxury cosmetics retailer Molten Brown, Planet and Accessorize, the prominent ‘B’ Listed building at 55-59 Buchanan Street, is situated on the city's main retail thoroughfare which was recently voted the world’s 7th best shopping street.

Niall Robertson, associate director of Jones Lang LaSalle, who managed the three-month long major stone repair works on behalf of the Landlord, said: “This property, which dates back to 1840, was the subject of major redevelopment in the late 1990s when the original building was demolished with only the historic stone front elevation retained. This technique was known as 'facade retention' and was common in Glasgow to allow redevelopment while retaining the Victorian character of the city.”

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Robertson, a Chartered Building Surveyor, had surveyed the premises last year and identified a number of potentially dangerous structural defects to the stone including cracks to lintels supporting stonework above window openings. He continued: "The works required removal of damaged stonework and replacement with huge stones – some of the biggest ever handled by the contractor weighing up to three quarters of a tonne – which were winched into place. Skilled stonemasons carved the stone using traditional techniques to recreate the original Greek detailing.

"Interestingly, the stone elevation is recorded as having had a painted finish as recently as 1988 when the building was listed by Historic Scotland and although paint had been stripped off some time ago, some remnants of flaking paint were still found on the special features to the building."

The works were completed to coincide with the Christmas shopping period when festive trading significantly increases on Buchanan Street. Jones Lang LaSalle acquired the property for the Landlord in 2010. Sean Carmichael, Surveyor in the Property and Asset Management Team worked with the tenants to arrange funding and minimise disruption to trade during the works.

Following the recent merger with King Sturge, Jones Lang LaSalle is now the largest property consultancy in the UK. The firm’s strength in Glasgow’s retail sector is underlined by its project management of major refurbishment works to shopping malls on Buchanan Street, having recently completed the transformation of the ‘A’ Listed Argyll Arcade and the dramatic facelift of Princes Square – all investments which will help Buchanan Street cement its position as the UK’s favourite shopping destination for years to come.

(GK)