Smoke streamed out from the south east corner of the Jenners building just around noon on Monday, with larger plumes of smoke evident from the rear of the building.
There were reports of flames at ground floor level on Rose Street but these are unconfirmed.
As the fire started, according to an eye witness many of the fire alarms in buildings on St Andrew Square went off in unison, alerting the occupants to evacuate. We met staff from Wagamama and other businesses around the square, but a member of staff at TK Maxx just opposite the side of Jenners confirmed they had not moved out of the building.
Road blocks were set up on St Andrew Square, South St David Street and George Street.
At 2pm there was still at least one alarm sounding, but the smoke had died down and the fire appears to be under control with many fire appliances and police vehicles remaining on the scene. Roads in the vicinity have been closed to all traffic.
The building is in the process of being converted into a hotel by owner Anders Povlsen the billionaire behind ASOS. Planning permission was granted last summer.
Planning permission granted in Summer 2022
The Local Democracy Reporting Service explained then that Jenners is set to be returned to its “former glory” and reopen as a luxury hotel featuring a rooftop bar after plans were given the go ahead by councillors.
One of the city centre’s most historic buildings, Jenners has occupied a space at the east end of Princes Street for 184 years. But having lain empty since last year when previous occupants Frasers Group shut up shop, the future of the former ‘Harrods of the North’ was for a time shrouded in uncertainty.
Ambitious plans put forward by AAA United A/S, the holdings company owned by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen who bought the store for £53 million in 2017, promised to retain the building’s early Renaissance style façade whilst making way for new uses.
Welcoming the major project, City Centre ward councillor Jo Mowat said the “sensitively done” redevelopment will give the site a “new lease of life”.
Key aspects of the original Jenners store will be kept in place such as the central atrium and iconic outside signage, which the council ordered to be reinstated last year after it had been removed by Frasers Group.
However, the building will undergo significant alterations as it takes shape as a boutique 96-bedroom hotel on the upper floors, with a new seventh floor being added to the 1905 extension on the corner of South St David Street and Rose Street which will make space for a gym, plant enclosure and roof terrace bar.
In the lower section, Jenners will remain in traditional use as a shopping destination with retail spaces and food and drink outlets from the basement to the first floor.
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