Plans submitted for hotel at the site of historic Glasgow building

A historic Glasgow building could be set for a new lease of life as a luxury hotel, if plans are given the green light.

The B-listed Watt Brothers building on Sauchiehall Street and Bath Street has sat empty since the store shut in 2019, and was bought by Greenock businessmen Sandy and James Easdale in 2020. But now an application has been submitted to turn the upper floors into a hotel along with plans for adding new floors.

The basement, ground llevel and mezzanine levels in the Sauchiehall Street side of the building would still be available for retail use although this is described as a “confusing labryinth of levels and spaces…not suited to modern retail operations and the expectations of the consumer”.

The two buildings on the site include the original Sauchiehall Street store, which was built in 1914 and the Bath Street side which was built in 1929.

A decision on the hotel plans are pending.

Earlier this year Glasgow's City Centre Task Force (CCTF) announced plans to review the current model and concept of the 'Style Mile' - Argyle, Buchanan and Sauchiehall Streets - in the face of retail trends and increase in vacant units and sites that indicate the need to move to a mixed-use model in all town and city centres.

A priority in this review of the wider area will be Sauchiehall Street - with a vision to develop and drive footfall in this key city centre street with a mix of uses and high-quality public realm in the context of the emerging proposals for the Buchanan Galleries. This part of the review will take account of and complement the existing work undertaken via the Avenues programme.