# St. James Centre

Edinburgh, United Kingdom · mall · tier: draft · Retrofit Atlas record `m-d40eef86f2` · release 2026-10-21

Canonical: https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/united-kingdom/edinburgh-st-james-centre/  
JSON: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-d40eef86f2.json · Provenance: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-d40eef86f2.provenance.json · API: https://retrofitatlas.org/api/v1/sites/m-d40eef86f2

## Facts

| Field | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Status | demolished | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Strategy | redevelop | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| New use | retail, hotel, entertainment | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| What is there now | St James Quarter comprising retail, hotel, and cinema | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Opened | 1969 | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Closed | 2016 | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Redeveloper | Nuveen Real Estate | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Entitlement year | 2015 | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |

## Quoted support

- **year_opened**: “Completed by architects Ian G Cooke and Hugh Martin of Hugh Martin & Partners after Martin's partnership with Ian Burke ceased in 1969.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Centre
- **year_closed**: “All of the shops in the centre, with the exception of the John Lewis department store, closed in 2016 in preparation for demolition, which has since been completed.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Centre
- **after_notes**: “The replacement opened in its first phase in June 2021, with additional stores and a cinema opening in 2022. The hotels opened later in 2023, due to small delays in its construction as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Centre
- **status**: “All of the shops in the centre, with the exception of the John Lewis department store, closed in 2016 in preparation for demolition, which has since been completed.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Centre
- **strategy**: “An £850m redevelopment of the former shopping centre, New St. Andrew's House office and hotel by its owners, Nuveen Real Estate, was undertaken. The existing 1973 building was demolished, making way for a three-storey, glass-roofed, crescent-shaped building designed by Allan Murray Architects.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Centre

## Anchors

John Lewis

## Parties

- Nuveen Real Estate — owner (from text)

## Timeline

- 1969: Centre completed
- 2015: Planning approval granted
- 2015: Construction expected to start
- 2016: Closure announced for October 2016
- 2016: Shops closed (except John Lewis)
- 2021: First phase of St James Quarter opened
- 2022: Additional stores and cinema opened
- 2023: Hotels opened

## Background (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened)

The St. James Centre, later re-branded as St. James Shopping, was a shopping centre next to the former New St. Andrew House office building for the Scottish Office, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was initially designed by Burke Martin Partnership in 1964 but was completed by architects Ian G Cooke and Hugh Martin of Hugh Martin & Partners after Martin's partnership with Ian Burke ceased in 1969.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Centre

## Sources

- Quoted support for year_opened — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Centre

## Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "St. James Centre, Edinburgh, United Kingdom." Record m-d40eef86f2, release 2026-10-21, tier draft. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/united-kingdom/edinburgh-st-james-centre/ (accessed 2026-10-21).

```bibtex
@misc{retrofitatlas_edinburghstjamescentre,
  title = {St. James Centre, Edinburgh, United Kingdom},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/united-kingdom/edinburgh-st-james-centre/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-d40eef86f2, release 2026-10-21, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-21}
}
```

Licence: research use only; terms undecided with the authors (https://retrofitatlas.org/licence/). Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0. Tiers: curated = from the authors' public map, not reviewed by them; draft = imported or model-extracted, unreviewed.