70-74 High Street, BT1 2BE
About Imperial Buildings
Imperial Buildings is a four storey, with attic, commercial and office building located at 70-74 High Street. Imperial Buildings was designed by W.J. Gilliland and constructed 1906-7. The building enters valuation records in 1908 as two shops, valued at £83 and £110 and 33 offices on the first to fourth floors with valuations from £3.10s to £29. It was reerected from the second floor up, with some details missing, after it was damaged during a Luftwaffe raid in 1941. The building has provided accommodation for a number of companies and organisations including Farrow’s Bank Ltd, the Ulster Teachers’ Union and local offices for the Daily Mail and other newspapers (Street Directories). Since the 1970s the ground floor shops have been occupied by a sports goods retailer (Jackson Sports).
In December 2023, Mark McAllister submitted a planning application (LA04/2023/4579/F) proposing change of use from retail to coffee shop & bakery and plans to open a new Trait Coffee branch. Trait Coffee currently has three branches located on the Lisburn Road, College Square East and in Comber (as of December 2023). This application was approved in November 2024.
In September 2024, contractors began stripping out the former Jackson Sports units in Imperial Buildings in preparation for the development of the Trait coffee shop.
In January 2025, Trait Ltd (Trait Coffee) submitted a planning application (LA04/2025/0054/F) and listed building consent (LA04/2025/0055/LBC) proposing conversion of a retail space into a restaurant and bakery, including modifications to the ground-floor frontage and additional site improvements.
Project Information
Floors
5
Planning References
LA04/2023/4579/FLA04/2023/4579/F
Project Team
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