Inside the former Salvation Army Citadel building on Cross Burgess Street in Sheffield city centre (pic: Lost Places & Forgotten Faces)Inside the former Salvation Army Citadel building on Cross Burgess Street in Sheffield city centre (pic: Lost Places & Forgotten Faces)
Inside the former Salvation Army Citadel building on Cross Burgess Street in Sheffield city centre (pic: Lost Places & Forgotten Faces)

See inside forgotten Sheffield city centre gem set to becomes spectacular restaurant and bar

These photos offer a rare glimpse inside one of Sheffield’s forgotten architectural gems, which could be set for a dramatic new lease of life.

The former Citadel building, standing across from John Lewis on Cross Burgess Street, dates back to the late 19th century but has lain empty since the Salvation Army moved its Sheffield headquarters to Sharrow more than two decades ago.

The spectacular space has since fallen into a sorry state of decay, with pigeon poo covering the floor and paint peeling from the walls, which are covered in years of grime and mould, as these new photos taken by the urban explorer behind the popular Facebook page Lost Places & Forgotten Faces show.

But things could soon be looking up for the venue, with owner Tandem Properties’ plans to transform it into the city’s newest restaurant and bar having been approved in October 2019.

This was just the latest in a long list of proposals for the Grade II-listed premises, with its distinctive red-brick facade, which only the previous year the same developer had been given the green light to turn into a shopping unit.

There is, however, cause for optimism that this could finally be the project which breathes new life into the building.

Construction of new shops, workspaces and apartments across the road on Pinstone Street is well under way, and plans have been approved too for an upmarket hotel further up Pinstone Street, opposite the Peace Gardens, as part of the £470 million Heart of the City II scheme to transform the city centre.

There are also proposals to build a new seven-storey office block and food hall the other side of John Lewis, on Cambridge Street, and to convert the historic Leah’s Yard complex of former workhouses, once home to Sheffield’s little mesters, into a building showcasing the best of Sheffield’s small businesses today.

John Lewis, meanwhile, recently committed to staying in Sheffield city centre by signing a new 20-year lease.

Earlier this month, minor changes to the planning permission for the former Citadel were approved, removing a handful of conditions, which suggests the owner remains serious about its latest plans for the property.

The Star has attempted to contact Tandem Properties for more information about when work might begin and how long it is expected to take.