If you take a stroll through Cardiff Bay, you'll find some of the most spectacular and historical buildings in the city. The grand Pierhead building has been part of the landscape for over 125 years, while the historic Mount Stuart Square is lined with Grade II listed buildings, dominated by the huge Coal Exchange hotel.
However, despite the bay area having undergone a huge development during the 1980s and 1990s - with more plans to transform the area on the horizon - some buildings in Cardiff Bay have been left empty for decades. While plans have now been secured for some of these empty buildings, the future of others remains uncertain. Here are some of the empty buildings in Cardiff Bay and what lies in store for them. For the latest Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here
Custom House, Bute Street
The Grade II listed Custom House building on Bute Street has been empty for over 25 years. It stands next to the grand Cory Building - also empty - at a smaller three storeys and was designed by prominent architect Sir Henry Tanner, who was responsible for the Post Office building on Westgate Street.
It dates back to 1898 and was constructed on the site of the former gardens to the Dock Chambers building further down the street as an immigration office and once had multiple offices inside including the main enquiry room on the first floor. But after over two decades, it looks like the building could come back into use again.
Owned by Cardiff-based company PropertyIndex, the building is set to be transformed into seven apartments after Cardiff Council recently approved a change of use for the building. Original features, such as the sweeping staircase and wrought iron gate leading to the building, are set to be refurbished and retained.
Marine Buildings
The historic Marine Buildings at Penarth Marina has been derelict for nearly 40 years and was last in use in the early 1980s. Formerly used as a mix of office space, apartments, and shops, it suffered from fire and water damage over the years and its structure has now been considered "dangerous" by inspectors.
Plans were submitted in 2011 by restauranteur Martin Martinez, owner of the El Puerto and La Marina Restaurants in the neighbouring Old Custom House, to transform the empty building into a four-star hotel, with 55 bedrooms, a wine bar, and a cafeteria. But the plans never materialised and the building remains vacant.
Merchant Place and Cory's Buildings
Merchant Place and the adjoining Cory's Buildings have lain empty for 20 years. Located on the corner of Bute Place and Bute Street, the buildings are just metres from the Wales Millennium Centre and now, after two decades, are set to be transformed.
The five-storey Grade II listed buildings were designed by Bruton and Williams and date back to the late 1800s. Merchant Place was built in 1881, with the Cory's Buildings following eight years later for Cory Brothers & Co. The buildings were bought by Cardiff Council back in 2021, when proposals for a new hotel or apartment block were put forward.
However, plans to convert the buildings into the new home of Cardiff Sixth Form College were revealed in October of 2021. The college is currently based in Trinity Court on Newport Road and new plans were submitted to Cardiff Council last October after the college agreed terms to acquire the site, as well as another nearby plot of land, to provide a permanent new home for its teaching space and boarding accommodation.
As part of the plans, the buildings, which have been empty since the early 2000s, would be restored with internal and external alterations made to the site. If plans are approved, part of the buildings would be demolished and a new eight-storey building built on the site. You can find out more about the plans here.
Adelaide Street
This grey building on Adelaide Street has been empty for a number of decades. An 11,000 volt electricity substation, run by Western Power, has lain within the walls for almost 70 years. The building has been a substation since 1953, Land Registry documents show, with Western Power telling WalesOnline in 2019 that the building's structure is sound.
In 2021, Cardiff Council bought a plot of land next to the building, where Merthyr House used to stand, and marketed it to developers. Councillors were expected to sign off plans in October to build council housing on the land, but a planning application has yet to be submitted. In 2020, plans were submitted for the building to be demolished and an "interim building" built to house a substation, but these have yet to come to fruition.
A cabinet report into the site made in 2021 read: "Given the derelict state of the site over a number of decades, it has become a significant blight on the local community and environment. The council has cleared the site and hoarded the entire site, to improve the appearance of the area.
“The development would provide suitable and adaptable accommodation for larger, extended families, delivering accommodation that provides for older family members who wish to live with their extended families. The site is well located close to facilities and parkland and the development would provide a private communal garden.”
Coal Exchange
While part of the Coal Exchange is in use as a hotel, demolition work recently began to remove the most damaged sections of the other part of the building, which is not in use. Due to a water leak in February, the part of the building that houses the hotel and Culley's Kitchen & Bar is closed until March 31.
The Grade II* listed building was built in 1888 and has become one of the city's most iconic buildings. In 2013 Cardiff Council carried out emergency repair work to make the building safe.
In 2013, Cardiff Council carried out emergency works to the building to make it safe. It was then handed over to Liverpool-based hotel developer, Signature Living, which went into administration during the pandemic. It is now understood that a section of the building is now being removed and will be rebuilt, but it is unclear whether it will look exactly the same as it did before.
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