The historic Jenners department store in Edinburgh’s Princes Street has been closed for refurbishment and Danish billionaire, Anders Holch Povlsen, is restoring the 129-year-old property and transforming it into a hotel, while also working on the Victorian facade. For years, there have been hundreds of secret rooms and turrets at Jenners, accessible only by a select few. BBC Scotland News has been granted rare behind-the-scenes access to the property to share its findings with readers.
The oldest department stores worldwide, Jenners, has a five-year plan to return it to its former glory. Every single wire and pipe will be refurbished. All the Victorian wiring and asbestos has already been removed, and the construction phase is expected to take three years once it begins in the summer. The disused rooms above the department store, measuring about 10,000m² in the six-story building, will be made into a hotel with a cafe between the department store and hotel.
Some of the suites include the directors’ suite, a luxury suite overlooking The Mound and Princes Street, while the Tower Suite, which will keep its circular windows, will include a bedroom with views on the Scott Monument. There will also be a private rooftop terrace. Meanwhile, work is ongoing to restore the Victorian facade, including a new facade for the 1966 extension facing Princes Street.
During the demolition phase, workers discovered an early lift in Britain behind plasterboard; this lift is one of the oldest in the nation. Parquet flooring dating back to 1895 was also found and will be restored. Thousands of tonnes of material, including 300 tonnes of metal, have already been removed. Anders Krogh from AAA United, the company that manages the building for Anders Holch Povlsen, said Mr. Martin, the firefighter who passed away while extinguishing a fire last year, will be permanently remembered: “We are working on a way to honour Mr. Martin in the atrium. We will seek approval with his family nearer the time.
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