Glasgow's Bellgrove Hotel was notorious as a blight on the city where homeless were housed in conditions described as "like a Soviet gulag".
Now, however, the building is undergoing a major renovation as part of a new £16.8 million regeneration plan for Gallowgate in Glasgow.
New proposals submitted by its owners, Wheatley Group, to Glasgow City Council show that architectural features on the B-listed hotel are to be preserved as part of a scheme that will see large sections retained and redeveloped into affordable housing.
Frank McCafferty, Wheatley Group’s Director of Assets and Repairs, said: “We’re delighted we’ll be able to preserve the long architectural history of the Bellgrove Hotel and bring it up to the highest of modern living standards.
“By working closely with our partners in Glasgow City Council and Scottish Government we are able to not only improve the housing in the area for generations to come but change the lives of people in the community for the better.”
Developers say the conversion of the 1930s building, should plans be approved, would retain large sections of architectural importance, including retaining the front and east-facing elevations overlooking Gallowgate and the decorative bands of coloured tiles.
The rear elevation and western wing are too narrow to accommodate flats and will be demolished.
Wheatley Group's plans show 14 new flats within the redesigned hotel and 56 new homes on the surrounding land.
It is expected that work on the 17 one-bedroom and 53 two-bedroom homes for mid-market rent with Lowther, part of Wheatley Group, will be complete in spring 2026.
The site of the hotel will be developed as part of the ongoing work of Transforming Communities: Glasgow (TC:G) – a partnership between Glasgow City Council, Wheatley Group, and Scottish Government which is delivering community and housing-led regeneration at eight locations across the city.
The decision to retain part of the hotel, which was built in the 1930s to house working men who had migrated to Glasgow for work, would save 685 tonnes of carbon when compared with a full demolition and rebuild.
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The first two phases of the regeneration of Gallowgate were completed in 2013 and 2020, with 201 new-build homes built in the area, the majority for social rent.
The Bellgrove Hotel was acquired from the private owners in April 2021, with support from TC:G, after years of complaints from the local community about the conditions provided for the men living there and anti-social behaviour issues.
The hostel was likened to Dickensian poorhouses when politicians raised it in the Scottish Parliament, after a 2014 newspaper investigation found occupants were housed in tiny rooms looking on to a rat-infested courtyard while the owners raked in £1.5m in annual fees from taxpayers.
Former residents were supported by Wheatley Care and Glasgow’s Health and Social Care Partnership to move into their own tenancies when the building was bought over.
Wheatley Group has appointed Collective Architecture as the architects for the regeneration project with CCG (Scotland) Ltd as the contractor.
Neal Whitaker, from Collective Architecture, said: “The site layout aims to create good-quality, well-overlooked green space for the community, with particular care taken in the formation of a linear park along the former Bellfield Street, transforming this key active travel link between the Gallowgate and Dennistoun.
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“As part of this strategy, the new-build block steps back from the Gallowgate, allowing the retained hotel building to act as a landmark on the approach into the city from the east.
“The retained portions of the hotel are conserved in line with best practice, whilst the new block incorporates subtle references to the moderne style, with curves at the corners, entrances to closes, and canopies all establishing an architectural dialogue with the listed hotel.”
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