VIDEO: Council leader looking ahead as Grosvenor House Hotel comes down

Sheffield Council leader Julie Dore holds up her wedding photo at the Grosvenor House Hotel, where she had her reception 30 years ago. The hotel is being demolished to make way for Sheffield Retail Quarter.

Julie Dore said the new office block, which will replace the landmark hotel as part of the first phase of the new retail quarter, would 'transform' the city centre.

But the moment was bittersweet as she also looked back 30 years to the day she was married.

The Grosvenor House Hotel is demolished.

“Standing on the site of what will become the Sheffield Retail Quarter is really something to behold," said Coun Dore.

"The demolition teams have worked tirelessly over Christmas to keep the project on schedule and make this dramatic change to the city’s skyline.

“The Grosvenor once was the place to be - in fact, my wedding reception was held there 30 years ago - and it holds a lot of memories for people across the city.

"However, our environment and the city is rapidly changing and therefore I hope people also can look forward to the transformation of this key part of the city to make way for a development that Sheffield people want and need, which can transform the city’s retail and commercial offer for generations to come.”

The proposed office block as part of Sheffield Retail Quarter.

Sheffield Retail Quarter on the rise in 2017

VIDEO: Final tour of Sheffield landmark before demolition

The Grosvenor, a former five star hotel built in the 1960s, will make way for a six storey office block that will become the new Sheffield home for HSBC. A number of shops and restaurants will be built at ground level, and the nearby Charter Square will be turned into a new public space.

Birmingham-based DSM Demolition is carrying out the work on the Grosvenor. The process that has included asbestos removal and soft stripping of the remaining internal aspects of the building shop fronts and debris.

The parts facing Pinstone Street and Furnival Gate were taken down by hand, and the remainder of the building is being demolished mechanically.

Construction of the office block will begin in the spring, and work should be finished by summer 2019.

Final plans for the second phase - which is expected to feature a new home for John Lewis - have yet to be submitted.

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