Scottish Cities Alliance

OVERVIEW

The St James Quarter is a comprehensive regeneration of the heart of Edinburgh’s city centre by Nuveen Real Estate and APG Asset Management. This massive development, the first phase of which opened June 2021, is replacing a 1970s shopping centre complex with a new mixed-use quarter featuring a mix of shops, bars and restaurants, hotels, flats, and leisure uses, complemented by enhanced public realm.

THE DEVELOPMENT SCHEME

The development is the largest of its type currently underway in the UK with a GDV in excess of £1 billion. It includes 79,000 sqm of prime retail, leisure, and food and drink space (including an expanded John Lewis department store); a 214-bedroom luxury W Hotel and 73-bedroom Roomzzz aparthotel, and 150 homes. Other brands within the St James Quarter include H&M, Lego, Hamleys, Peloton, H Beauty, Samsung, and Stradivarius.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The St James Quarter is projected to support a net increase in employment in Scotland of approximately 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs and a net increase in the gross value added of Scotland of approximately £45 million per annum.

WHY EDINBURGH?

“We invested in Edinburgh as we believe that the future of shopping lies in global city centres, and the seven-acre site within the world heritage area provided us a great opportunity to provide a landmark retail-led, lifestyle district that fully integrates and enhances Edinburgh’s city centre as well as creating 3,000 retail and leisure jobs.

Drawing inspiration from Edinburgh’s first new town plan in the Georgian era, our St James Quarter puts connectivity and accessibility at its core, integrating physically, culturally and socially into the urban fabric of Edinburgh. We have also been working with the Council as well as the Scottish Government via the Growth Accelerator Model to improve the local infrastructure and public space in the area.”

Nuveen Real Estate

DELIVERY OF EDINBURGH ST JAMES QUARTER

The Council originally supported the delivery of the project by utilising its compulsory purchase powers to secure the full developable area in order to create the investment opportunity.

To further support the delivery of the development and ensure that the best possible outcome for the city in economic and environmental terms is achieved, a collaboration with the Scottish Government, Scottish Futures Trust, the development partners – Nuveen Real Estate and APG Asset Management – and the Council has been put in place. This arrangement is referred to as the Growth Accelerator. This innovative new model is primarily a funding mechanism that allows borrowing costs to be offset by new income streams subject to performance targets being achieved while also enhancing the public realm package supporting the development.

The development commenced on 20th October 2016. The retail galleria opened on 24^th June 2021, with the remaining elements opening over the following 18 months.