Signature reveals event space plans for Cunard Building
Liverpool developer Signature Living has revealed plans for the vacant ground floor space at the city’s Cunard Building in a series of CGIs.
Signature spoke earlier this year of its plans for the Cunard, and with a lease now signed, these plans are progressing.
The business intends to be open before the end of the year and said the 19,000 sq ft facility will become “Liverpool’s flagship wedding and events space”.
The developer also intends to open a fine dining restaurant at the Cunard, along with a brasserie. There will also be a number of smaller rooms used for private dining, cooking classes and meeting space for hire. The restaurant will be open to diners four nights a week, serving up to 50 diners.
Liverpool City Council acquired the long leasehold on the Cunard Building from Merseyside Pension Fund in 2014.
In 2015 pop music museum British Music Experience signed for 16,000 sq ft at the building, while for a time Living Ventures had been in the frame to operate restaurants at the building.
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Signature Living’s spray on gold paint and fake leather plastic seats should go well with the existing Carrara marble. Maybe Joe will let them wrap a nice big tasteful bow around the building too, just like the White Star Building now has?
By Jane Jacobs
One day somebody may review the links between the mayor/council and Signature Living. This building is owned by the council and the ground floor is being let to Signature Living despite not having been openly marketed. They had previously tried to adopt their ‘foreign investor sales model’ on this building before being blocked by title issues, which in itself is staggering for a council building.
They sold Millennium House to Signature Living in an off market deal below market value.
They let Signature Living off pretty shocking breaches of the planning permission provided on the new Shankly Hotel within what was Millennium House.
These issues and the Councils transactions on other sites such as New China Town, the sale of land in the Baltic Triangle and Falkner St to Eliot Lawless and other off market deals where best value has not been achieved for the council and local taxpayers should be reviewed.
By Council Observor
The Signature Living brand should not be allowed to move in to these beautiful, historic buildings. I’m sure the brand serves some purpose and it is good that there are venues that cater for groups who come to enjoy the city but the style and ethos is not at all in keeping with the history of the buildings and so deter many people from visiting them. They are slowly taking over the city, with a style that only appeals to certain people. As @Jane Jacobs points out, wrapping an historic building such as the White Star Building is distasteful and an embarrassment to the city. Surely the Cunard Building should have been retained as a commerical office building, brought up to grade A standard. Once again, the city has lost valuable office space.
By A
To be fair, was the ground floor ever office space?
By Peter Stoba
The ground floor used to be home to the now defunct Government Office NW. How times change.
By The Childwall Kid