Shaping up – the shell set to be pride of Paradise
Oct 10 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

THE views from the outdoor terrace restaurant will be stunning and the vastness of the shopping floors spectacular. Soon the place will be buzzing with shoppers at what will become the main anchor store in Grosvenor’s £1bn Liverpool One scheme.
The new 260,000ft John Lewis store in Paradise Street is taking shape and is well on schedule for an opening next spring.
A visit to the store reveals the extent of the exercise of military precision to ensure everything is ready for opening day.
One thing is already clear. Visitors to John Lewis will experience one of the most up-to-date retail complexes in the country, and one of the biggest in the partnership.
More than 200 tradesmen and tradeswomen, employed by 30 sub-contractor companies, are transforming what was a huge empty shell into a building that will have soul, as well as the ethos of the John Lewis brand.
Time-served joiner Ross Hardman is project manager for contractors Wates, the company responsible for constructing the John Lewis store.
He is in charge of everything that happens on site during the 32-week programme to prepare the building for the next phase, fitting out the store.
By mid-December, the shop will be ready for the eight-week fitting out operation. By then, the eight lifts and six escalators will be operating, miles of cabling fitted and a huge air conditioning plant controlling the internal environment.
The site spans seven levels, basement, ground, first, second, third and fourth floors as well as the roof level.
One of the highlights of the store will be the Place to Eat restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling glazed walls overlooking Chavasse Park. An outdoor terrace will enable diners to enjoy views across the park, towards the Albert Dock and the river.
A group of young building trade students from Liverpool Community College were guests of Wates yesterday to mark National Construction Week.
Wates is a family-owned business and one of the largest private construction companies in the country. Established in 1897, the company sees the building students of today as the industry’s future – hence the invitation to trainees.
Ross Hardman gave them a conducted tour of the site, pointing out the logistics in transforming an empty shell into a huge shopping complex.
He asked the teenagers if they had any questions, and with a slice of cheeky Scouse humour, trainee brickie Thomas Deane, 17, asked him: “Do you have any jobs?”
Mr Hardman said: “I loved the enthusiasm of the boys on their visit. It was the same lad who examined a breezeblock wall and said ‘I could have done better than that’. You can see the enthusiasm they have for the trade. We have a lot of Liverpool people working on the site at the moment.”
Wates construction manager Damon Willicombe said: “We have an excellent team on the John Lewis contract in Liverpool. There is a great synergy between everyone here. The whole project is carefully planned and we place great emphasis on site safety. The visit by the trainees allows us to explain the workings of a major contract site.”
John Lewis staff, currently working across the city in Basnett Street, have yet to visit what will be their new home.
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As a spokeswoman said yesterday: “They will be truly amazed.”
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