St James Quarter, Edinburgh has been officially opened by HRH Princess Royal
St James Quarter, the 1.7million square feet lifestyle district in the heart of Edinburgh, has been officially opened by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal.
She was met upon arrival by the Rt Hon Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Robert Aldridge, in his role as Lord Lieutenant and then unveiled the foundation stone for what is regarded as the most significant city centre transformations undertaken in the UK.
Before the opening ceremony, HRH The Princess Royal was taken on a tour of the £1 billion project, which has 850,000 square feet of retail and leisure space and an Everyman Cinema. It will also soon feature the W Hotel Edinburgh, a 75-bed Roomzzz aparthotel and 152 residential apartments called New Eidyn. St James Quarter, which is being developed by Nuveen Real Estate, has been designed to integrate with Edinburgh’s transport network, cultural calendar and historic fabric.
Her Royal Highness was introduced to businesses on the shopping galleria, and ascended to the site’s highest point at what will be the UK’s second ever W Hotel, to take in the newest panorama of Edinburgh before sampling Scottish fare at Bonnie & Wild – a food hall dedicated to promoting Scotland’s independent food and drink producers.
She also met representatives from retail and hospitality academy FUSE Edinburgh, which in partnership with St James Quarter is helping boost local employment through training and job opportunities on site and throughout the rest of the city.
The Princess Royal also toured New Eidyn, a new 152-apartment residential development by Native Land and planted a tree as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Green Canopy initiative in New Eidyn’s private residents’ Gardens in the Sky, adding to more than a million trees that have, and will continue to be planted in Her late Majesty’s name.
The tour was rounded off by the official opening ceremony, where HRH was piped into Register Square to unveil the foundation stone. She also gave a short speech in front of guests and members of the public and was gifted a scarf custom-made out of St James Quarter tartan. The tartan, designed by Edinburgh College of Art graduate Rosie Baird for SJQ is legally registered.
Martin Perry, Director of Development, Real Estate, Europe at Nuveen Real Estate, said: “We are immensely grateful and honoured to have hosted Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. St James Quarter is at the heart of Edinburgh’s success story and, as the city bounces back, we see time and time again why we chose to invest here. A city with transformation and growth at its core, we are delighted to be able to provide such a revolutionary offering.”
The Rt Hon Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of Edinburgh said: “It has been a great honour to receive Her Royal Highness in Edinburgh today, and to accompany Her on a tour of this transformative project for the city. The opening of St James Quarter is the fruition of over a decade’s work to deliver a retail and lifestyle district unique to Edinburgh, which celebrates its spirit, history and culture.”
