Curtain-up on £4m revamp of Wolverhampton's Charles Clark building
It's been a blot on the landscape for years – but now a multi-million pound overhaul of a Wolverhampton city centre office block is finally complete.
The Charles Clark dealership had fallen into disrepair, with broken windows and a crumbling facade.
But now it has been converted into flats in a £4 million project.
Keys have been handed over to residents of the building's luxury apartments.
It comes after £4million and 18 months of work was spent on the former car dealership which had been boarded up since around 2001.
The site had been derelict for around 15 years and was an embarrassment for council bosses as it is one of the first buildings that people see upon driving into the city centre.
Developer, Kultar Dale, said he hopes the building will have a positive impact on the area.
"I have had some really positive feedback, I have had letters from residents thanking me for doing the work to the building."
The site redevelopment comes alongside a number of other developments in the area, including the new £60m Sainsbury's on St Mark's ring road and a multi-million rebuild of the Marstons headquarters.
Mr Dale said Chapel Ash is full of potential but is in need of a facelift. He has plans for further projects in the area in the future.
"I have got some other properties in Chapel Ash that were built by my team and we are in discussion to look at working on the old eye infirmary." The building, which has been officially named Clifton House, includes 12 luxury apartments each worth around £100,000.
Each home includes an open-plan living room and kitchen, two double bedrooms, a bathroom and gated rear parking.
Mr Dale said he wanted to create a mix of homes and shops, rather than just another housing development. The retail units, which include a Merridale Supermarket, have created around 30 jobs.
Other units include a beauty parlour, estate agents, hairdressers and a men's clothing shop.
He added: "I hope that the site will encourage the council and authority to develop Wolverhampton and get it back on the map again." Plans were originally drawn up to demolish the building but these were scrapped five years ago. The owners were furious in September when council chiefs refused permission for Merridale Supermarket to sell alcohol, saying there were already too many alcoholics in the area and parish ward Graiseley had the highest number of alcohol-related deaths in the city.
