Wednesday, June 07, 2023
£75m Ayr Central shopping centre set for completion
The £75 million shopping centre in the heart of Ayr town centre will mark its completion this week with a week-long programme of events including VIP store openings and culminating with a community fun day on Saturday 10 June.
Ayr Central's completion marks the end of almost six years of intense development activity by the centre developer Henry Boot Developments.
Phase one of the development opened in March 2006, with Debenhams reporting their strongest store opening in the UK and, Next and H&M; well ahead of target. The completion of the final phase sees fashion store Primark and HMV open their doors to the public today, with HMV hosting a VIP ribbon cutting by Channel 4 Hollyoaks actors Tuesday 6 June.
The 32,517 sq m (350,000 sq ft) shopping complex has transformed a former town-centre brownfield site, which lay derelict for 15 years, into one of the UK's most innovative hybrid retail developments.
Alan Kinloch, Regional Development Manager of Henry Boot Developments, developer at Ayr Central, says: "We are delighted to open Ayr Central shopping centre to the public and believe that we have produced a retail environment that blends in superbly well with the town around it, yet offers a distinct and attractive shopping experience.
"The new openings of HMV and Primark highlight a significant milestone in the development of Ayr Central which is already pulling people in from north Glasgow, Dumfries and even Carlisle.
"I am very proud of this development and look forward to celebrating the completion of it with a community fun day on 10 June 2006. We hope that this development will attract thousands of visitors during the spring and summer months and contribute to the civic pride of Ayr town centre."
Existing retailers will soon be joined by Hallmark Cards, Subway and Costa Coffee, with other high profile high street occupiers expected to be announced shortly.
Also opening this week is the UK's largest single level underground car park which has 495 spaces and lies underneath the development.
Ayr Central is set to have an immediate impact on the centre of Ayr and indeed the west of Scotland. Once open, its size and tenant mix will, according to CACI, catapult Ayr to fifth strongest retail destination in Scotland, above Braehead, Perth, Falkirk, Stirling, Inverness and East Kilbride. The new complex will also attract an additional 400 new jobs to the area and increase the weekly number of shoppers in Ayr from 136,000 to over 240,000 and during the summer months this figure is expected to rise to above 300,000 people.
A new concept in retail development, Ayr Central is a hybrid development which utilises the best qualities of out of town retail accommodation but places this within a town centre location with a town centre design. It is believed to be the first shopping centre of its kind in the UK to offer fully flexible units with double height mezzanine options, offering potential retailers greater choice of large unit space.
Designed by enterprising design team, i10 Design, there is strong emphasis placed on natural Scottish materials. The striking Caithness slab and red sandstone fronted development houses some of the biggest names in UK retailing and houses 'Taran Square' - the first new open air public space to be created in Ayr for more than 300 years.
Ayr Central's completion marks the end of almost six years of intense development activity by the centre developer Henry Boot Developments.
Phase one of the development opened in March 2006, with Debenhams reporting their strongest store opening in the UK and, Next and H&M; well ahead of target. The completion of the final phase sees fashion store Primark and HMV open their doors to the public today, with HMV hosting a VIP ribbon cutting by Channel 4 Hollyoaks actors Tuesday 6 June.
The 32,517 sq m (350,000 sq ft) shopping complex has transformed a former town-centre brownfield site, which lay derelict for 15 years, into one of the UK's most innovative hybrid retail developments.
Alan Kinloch, Regional Development Manager of Henry Boot Developments, developer at Ayr Central, says: "We are delighted to open Ayr Central shopping centre to the public and believe that we have produced a retail environment that blends in superbly well with the town around it, yet offers a distinct and attractive shopping experience.
"The new openings of HMV and Primark highlight a significant milestone in the development of Ayr Central which is already pulling people in from north Glasgow, Dumfries and even Carlisle.
"I am very proud of this development and look forward to celebrating the completion of it with a community fun day on 10 June 2006. We hope that this development will attract thousands of visitors during the spring and summer months and contribute to the civic pride of Ayr town centre."
Existing retailers will soon be joined by Hallmark Cards, Subway and Costa Coffee, with other high profile high street occupiers expected to be announced shortly.
Also opening this week is the UK's largest single level underground car park which has 495 spaces and lies underneath the development.
Ayr Central is set to have an immediate impact on the centre of Ayr and indeed the west of Scotland. Once open, its size and tenant mix will, according to CACI, catapult Ayr to fifth strongest retail destination in Scotland, above Braehead, Perth, Falkirk, Stirling, Inverness and East Kilbride. The new complex will also attract an additional 400 new jobs to the area and increase the weekly number of shoppers in Ayr from 136,000 to over 240,000 and during the summer months this figure is expected to rise to above 300,000 people.
A new concept in retail development, Ayr Central is a hybrid development which utilises the best qualities of out of town retail accommodation but places this within a town centre location with a town centre design. It is believed to be the first shopping centre of its kind in the UK to offer fully flexible units with double height mezzanine options, offering potential retailers greater choice of large unit space.
Designed by enterprising design team, i10 Design, there is strong emphasis placed on natural Scottish materials. The striking Caithness slab and red sandstone fronted development houses some of the biggest names in UK retailing and houses 'Taran Square' - the first new open air public space to be created in Ayr for more than 300 years.
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