New images show how Market Street's Debenhams building will look after huge transformation

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Brand new images have revealed how the former Debenhams store on Market Street will look after a huge £70m transformation. The site has lay derelict on one of the city's busiest shopping streets since the department store went into administration back in December of 2020.

Debenhams was later bought by Manchester-headquartered fashion giant Boohoo but all its stores were closed, leaving the site, known as the Rylands building, to become vandalised and even dubbed as the city's 'scruffiest' building by local leaders. READ MORE "The Place NOT to eat" - John Lewis café slammed by customers on Tripadvisor However last year, global real-estate investment firm AM Alpha confirmed works would get underway to transform the Grade II listed building into a mixed-use development compromising retail, leisure and office space.

But after Debenhams vacated, the once-proud department store was left covered in graffiti and had its windows smashed, as a the developers were warned that the overhaul could have been stalled by the town hall until they smartened up the appearance of the building.

Situated close to Picadilly Gardens, the multi-storey building was originally built in 1932 as a warehouse by J. Gerrard and Sons of Swinton for the Rylands textile company.