Central Village, Liverpool facts for kids
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The Lewis's building in 2019
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| Coordinates | 53°24′18″N 2°58′44″W / 53.405°N 2.979°W |
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| Status | abandoned |
| Developer | Merepark and Ballymore |
| Architect | Woods Bagot |
| Owner | Liverpool City Council |
Central Village was a big plan for new shops, fun places, offices, and homes in Liverpool, England. It was meant to be built on the land around Liverpool Central railway station and the old Lewis's department store.
The city council gave permission for the project in May 2009. Then, in February 2010, they gave the final go-ahead to start building the whole complex. However, the project was never fully finished. Today, the Lewis's building is used for offices, a hotel, and a gym.
Project Timeline: What Happened?
- June 2006: The first permission to build the project was given.
- October 2006: Merepark, a company, bought the land where Central Village would be built. It was a bit run-down at the time.
- October 2006: In the same month, the project also got its funding.
- Early 2007: Building was supposed to start around this time. But some decisions were still needed. Also, more attention was on another big project called L1. So, Central Village was delayed for several years.
- May 2008: Permission was given to build a hotel called Copthorne Hotel Liverpool inside the Central Village area.
- October 2008: Permission was also given to create another hotel, the Millennium Hotel Liverpool, in the old Watson building.
- November 2009: Money was promised to make the Central Station better and bigger. This was to go along with the Central Village plan.
- February 2010: The Lewis's department store announced it would close. This was because Merepark advised them not to renew their lease.
- May 2010: The first building contract was given to McGee. They were to design and build a car park with 459 spaces. This was meant to be the first part of the construction in summer 2010.
- May 2010: Lewis's department store closed its doors for good. It had been open for 154 years. Its parent company, Vergo Retail, had run into money problems.
- March 2013: An "apart-hotel" called Adagio opened. This is a hotel with apartments that have kitchens.
- 2023: The Liverpool City Council started looking for companies to help rebuild Liverpool Central train station. This is the same area that was planned for Central Village.
Why the Project Stopped
- June 2013: Merepark Construction, the company building the project, closed down. This stopped all the building work.
- 2014: A budget supermarket called Lidl said they planned to open a store in the Lewis's Building.
- January 2017: Another company, Augur Liverpool, took over the lease for part of the site.
- May 2017: Lidl announced they had changed their minds and would not open a supermarket there.
- September 2017: Augur announced new plans. They wanted to turn the Lewis's building into a place for shopping and fun. They called this new plan 'Circus'.
- May 2018: Liverpool City Council said they planned to buy the shopping centre above Liverpool Central Railway Station. At the same time, they would lease it back to Augur.
- September 2018: Augur finished converting the rest of the Lewis's building into offices. This part of the project was called 'The Department'.
What Was Completed
The Lewis's building was very famous in Liverpool for 154 years. It was a huge building, about 39,000 square metres (420,000 square feet) big. It closed on May 29, 2010, to be part of the Central Village project.
In 2013, the Adagio apart-hotel opened in the Lewis's building. It faced Ranelagh Street. In 2015, the rest of the building opened as office and retail space. This part was named The Department.
