Edinburgh St James welcomes Zara

The pre-let deal will see Zara take 3,400 sq m over three floors at Edinburgh St James; while Bershka, Stradivarius and Pull&Bear will take stores of 860 sq m, 560 sq m and 740 sq m respectively, all located within the main multilevel galleria. The Inditex brands will join a line-up of retailers, F&B and leisure occupiers which already includes John Lewis, Next, Everyman Cinema and the W Edinburgh.
 
Being developed by Nuveen Real Estate, Edinburgh St James will span five floors of prime shopping, dining, leisure and entertainment, and is forecast to welcome in excess of 20 million visitors a year. Due to open its retail and F&B element in 2020, the £1bn development is one of the most significant regeneration projects currently underway in the UK, and is set to strengthen Edinburgh’s standing as one of Europe’s most exciting and cosmopolitan cities. In close proximity to rail, tram and bus connections, the scheme will be a short, three-minute walk from Waverley Station. Visitors arriving by air will also be able to take a short bus or tram ride directly to the scheme upon its completion.
 
When complete, Edinburgh St James will comprise 79,000 sq m of retail space, complementing the shopping offer of neighbouring luxury retailer Harvey Nichols, which anchors the premium shopping street of Multrees Walk. Strategically completing the city center’s retail circuit, the development will also be home to 30 new restaurants, cafés and bars; Scotland’s first luxury W Hotel, comprising 244 guestrooms; luxury aparthotel brand Roomzzz, comprising 75-rooms; and 152 apartments by Native Land, in addition to delivering three new public squares and 1,600 car parking spaces.

According to research by CACI, Edinburgh St James will increase the city’s catchment area by 13 per cent when it opens, reaching 1.9m people with £4.5bn of available spend. It will also benefit from the city’s £1bn visitor economy, where tourists spend an average of £236 per visit, compared to £162 in European benchmark cities such as Stockholm and Amsterdam.