Providing an experience instore is key for high street businesses in 2023 – a trend that experts have predicted will continue to grow in the year ahead.
Located in one of Chesterfield’s iconic mock Tudor buildings, Elder Way offers businesses the opportunity to provide a memorable experience.
The 1930s former Co-op department store has been sympathetically restored by regeneration experts Jomast. Internally, the ground floor of the building has been transformed into seven units each offering a blank canvas to occupiers to transform.
The glazed frontages of each of the units, offer tenants the opportunity to provide a strong first impression with a front window display – a critical element to catch the attention of potential shoppers and set the tone for their in-store experience.
Inside the units, floor space from 1,420 sq ft. provides ample space for ‘retailtainment’ – the fusion of retail and entertainment to enhance the shopping experience with things like special events, product demonstrations, interactive displays, fashion shows, or workshops.
Internally the units at Elder Way may provide a blank canvas, however externally it’s a different story. The building’s iconic black and white exterior has all been preserved.
Jomast has retained the black and white mock Tudor frontage of the building’s frontage on Knifesmithgate. Above unit 3, the gold lettering – Chesterfield and District Co-operative Society Ltd – remains to remind people of the unique heritage of the building.
Elder Way is one of the largest of Chesterfield’s extensive collection of black and white buildings. There are about 45 in the town centre alone with most of the buildings dating from the 1920s and 1930s and are linked to rebuilding due to street improvements in the town. During this time Chesterfield Corporation undertook an ambitious programme of street improvements in the town centre.
A century later and history, it seems, is repeating itself.
In 2021, Chesterfield received nearly £20 million of Levelling Up funding to transform Chesterfield Town Centre. The funding, which is being matched by £6 million of investment from Chesterfield Borough Council will underpin the Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield improvement plan.
The Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield programme will see key spaces in the town centre regenerated and reimagined, including Market Place, New Square, Burlington Street and Packers Row, Corporation Street and the George Stephenson Memorial Hall. Work will be completed in phases until 2025 and is already underway transforming the George Stephenson Memorial Hall.
Built in 1879, the unique building commemorates Chesterfield’s adopted son, George Stephenson (Father of Railways). Originally a library as well as being used for lectures and classes, today the building is better known as the Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery and the Pomegranate Theatre.
The refurbished Stephenson Memorial Hall will create a modern visitor attraction in the heart of Chesterfield which brings together an extended theatre, a reconfigured and modern museum, alongside new gallery space, a café bar, education and community facilities.
Mark Hill, Development Director of Jomast Developments, commented: “It has been fantastic to see the continued preservation and investment in key town centre buildings throughout 2022 – like the Stephenson Memorial Hall. Buildings like these give Chesterfield town centre its character and sets it apart. Chesterfield has some stunning architecture which, through clever thinking is being preserved and repurposed for future users. It will be great to see the Pomegranate re-open in 2023 and further add to Chesterfield town centre’s offering as a place to live, work and invest.”
With a prime town centre position, Elder Way offers the space and location to enable retail and hospitality businesses to capitalise on Chesterfield’s regeneration.
If you’re a business looking to benefit from the opportunities on offer at Elder Way get in touch with us today.