Work starts on £20m refurbishment of Cascades shopping Centre, Portsmouth

Work starts on £20m refurbishment of Cascades Shopping Centre, Portsmouth. The New Year saw the long-awaited £20m refurbishment of the ground and lower ground floors of Cascades Shopping Centre, Portsmouth commence smoothly and to plan. The partial redevelopment focuses on the part of the Centre around and incorporating the existing food court and Bhs store, and creates new first floor gallery space for the upgraded food offer in the Centre. The alterations introduce a new double height and wide curving mall with full height shop fronts, a number of additional retail units which will include several existing retailers who wish to relocate within the new mall, and new A3 food units located at both ground and first floor levels, the latter with a spacious terrace overlooking the new mall. This opportunity to improve the food and refreshment offer in Portsmouth city centre will enable contemporary cafes and restaurants to entice busy shoppers and city centre workers to take a well earned break in stylish surroundings. In addition to the new food units, Bhs will be introducing a café operation at its store.

The new mall also provides the opportunity to significantly improve the customer toilet and baby change facilities, and the Centre’s integral and now self managed car parking facilities located above the centre. Orchard Street Investment Management LLP, Property Investment Managers for the major UK pension fund which owns the property, has conceived the scheme to significantly improve the internal layout, add around 2,500 sq metres of additional retail space, and provide a new focal point within the scheme for both shoppers and retailers.

The new mall with its first floor food gallery will further enhance pedestrian flows through Cascades Shopping Centre as well as through Commercial Road Precinct and Arundel Street. The increased interest in letting activity at Cascades has also reinforced the regeneration of Portsmouth’s city centre retail offer. The  partial redevelopment of the western end of the Centre has brought a significant number of construction jobs to the city already and, when the new mall, cafes and retail stores open, additional retail and customer support roles as well.

Rhoda Joseph, Centre Manager of Cascades Shopping Centre, commented:

“We are continuing to be open as normal during the partial redevelopment of Cascades Shopping Centre. The improved Centre will be very important in re-energising interest in Portsmouth from shoppers, visitors and residents and will increase the vitality and viability of Portsmouth City Centre’s retail offering. The immediate improvements Cascades will make to the shopping environment in Portsmouth complement the Council’s wider development proposals for the City, and the changes to the type of food offer in the new Cascades have been requested by shoppers in recent surveys.

The beauty of the plans for the Cascades partial redevelopment is the majority of the Centre will be unaffected by the works in progress and business will be as normal throughout. With the works being completed by August 2007, the new bigger and better Cascades will be brought swiftly to completion with minimal disruption for shoppers and retailers.”

The sole letting agents are Colliers CRE with Jones Lang Lasalle providing property management services.