The Roundhouse & Rotunda

Glasgow is set to welcome a world-class new entertainment hub and events venue as Forrest Hotels unveil plans to transform the decaying North Rotunda.

The owners of the multi-award-winning Radisson Red hotel bought the building in June 2023 and plan to invest £15million to transform the old building over three levels into ‘The Roundhouse’ on the ground floor and ‘The Rotunda’, on the upper floors, while carefully restoring and enhancing the historic features of the original structure.

Forrest have taken inspiration from Nashville’s world-famous live music circuit to design a stunning new ground floor space, designed with live performance in mind – with two upper floors created for hosting weddings, conferences and events.

The versatile new venue with state-of-the-art bespoke sound and lighting systems will feature a new extension and external stairwell, allowing the building to meet modern building regulations and standards.

The stunning design preserves and showcases the original features, like the cast iron and glass cupola and original round open-plan floors.

The new incarnation will be made up of two distinct venues – The Roundhouse on the ground floor and The Rotunda on the two floors above.

Glasgow’s newest live music and entertainment venue will be created on the ground floor of the building. A new ground floor extension will accommodate The Roundhouse with a stunning bar set against the backdrop of the SEC, Hydro, Armadillo and Finnieston Crane.

The Rotunda first floor will be a lounge and pre-event space with an outside terrace, retaining the existing floor to ceiling windows and offering amazing views. The second floor is the heart of the venue, a large open space showcasing the full 360-degree windows and original cast iron cupola, with an almost eight-metre high roof at the centre. Capacity can be up to 500 for larger events or around 200 to 300 for seated, table-service events like conferences and weddings.

Our proposals will create 60 much needed new jobs for the city, with The Roundhouse and Rotunda intended to launch early in 2026 subject to planning consents and statutory approvals.

Planning Consent for Home Bargains, Dingwall

Forrest Developments have obtained detailed planning consent from The Highland Council for a 20,000 sq ft stand alone retail unit for Home Bargains within the town centre of Dingwall. Construction works are due to commence in September 2022.

Property Awards

The new 174 bedroom Radisson Red next to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow has been selected as a finalist in the Development of the Year (Commercial Buildings) category at the upcoming Scottish Property Awards 2019. A fantastic achievement for the entire development team and recognition of the high quality building design and specification of the hotel.

 

The Radisson Red

Forrest Hotels Limited, a subsidiary of Forrest Group, has submitted a detailed planning application to Glasgow City Council for a new 176-bedroom hotel on a prime development site overlooking the River Clyde at Finnieston Quay, Glasgow.

Named the Radisson Red, the new-build hotel represents a £30 million investment for the rapidly expanding Forrest Group.

The Radisson Red will be adjacent to the SECC, the Clyde Auditorium and the Hydro Arena and on the edge of the West End and the City Centre.

 The hotel will be run and managed by Radisson (Carlson Rezidor hotel group) but ownership remains in the hands of the Forrest Hotels.

The Radisson Red is the first new-build hotel of this brand in Europe. Radisson manage over 1370 hotels across the globe including hotels in the USA, Shanghai and Cape Town.

The ADF Architects designed Radisson Red hotel will have:

•             A building envelope that will appear to change colour reacting to the different natural daylight.

•             The Red Sky Bar built on the roof with arguably the best bar views in the city.

•             The Red Face Gym on the roof, again with superb views across the city.

•             176 rooms with a minimum size of 28msq compared with the industry standard size of 16-20msq.

•             A structure that will stand 10 storeys high.

•             On site Car Parking for 80 cars

 Should the application be granted, it is the intention to commence site operations in April 2016 with the grand opening of the Hotel scheduled for Autumn 2017.

For more information on Radisson Red please click here.

RELATED DEVELOPMENT: FINNIESTON QUAY, GLASGOW

Public Event

On 21st April 2015 Forrest Hotels held a public event as part of the Proposal of Application Notice process in advance of submission of a formal planning application. The exhibition took place in the SkyPark complex, just a short walk from the development site adjacent to the Rotunda on Finnieston Quay. The public exhibition was set up in such a way as to help everyone to understand what was being proposed and to encourage discussion and questions on an informal basis with the key development team members. Over the six hour period a total of 53 members of the public attended the exhibition and provided a number of views and comments on the design proposals. Forrest Hotels have reviewed these comments and amended the design to suit a number of the points raised.

Forrest Hotels will shortly be submitting a detailed planning application to Glasgow City Council.

Please find the public exhibition boards below.

RELATED DEVELOPMENT: FINNIESTON QUAY, GLASGOW

Cambuslang Regeneration

On Tuesday 27th March 2012, South Lanarkshire Council Planning Committee unanimously approved our planning permission in principle application for the comprehensive regeneration of the area with a mixed-use development at Bridge Street, Cambuslang.

The area previously occupied by the Hoover factory, between Somervell Street and Dallas Drive, and also the industrial land between Bridge Street and Somervell Street will be redeveloped jointly as part of the proposals.  Plans for the site include a 98,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s supermarket with around 500 car parking spaces, industrial and new business units, over 200 new houses, a park and ride facility and substantial green space.

As the site is currently disused, the development will bring jobs into Cambuslang and the surrounding area, with Sainsbury’s creating up to 300 full and part time job opportunities.  As well as a food store, the areas around the site will have pavilion offices or light industry buildings bringing a range of employment and business potential into the area.  It is likely the development will create around 500 jobs in the retail, business and industrial zones, which would be a welcomed boost to Cambuslang.

This is an exciting time for Cambuslang as this proposal will bring a huge investment into the area over the coming years.  In addition to the job creation and the retention of existing jobs, the regeneration of the site, which has lain empty for quite some time, will benefit and reinforce the existing town centre, in its edge of centre location.  We shall be moving forward with our detailed proposals at the earliest opportunity and look forward to this substantial regeneration project coming to fruition.

Forrest Developments and Sainsbury’s are keen to move forward with the detailed proposals and will be continuing to liaise with the local residents and stakeholders as soon as possible.

Homebargains take up residence in Forfar

Homebargains have signed a lease to take Unit 1 at Forfar Retail Park, following the sub-division works undertaken after the demise of Focus DIY Limited. Homebargins will commence their fit-out operations in February 2012 and intend to open for trading in early April 2012.