{"id":833874,"date":"2025-03-14T08:12:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T13:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/14\/graham-takes-over-former-isg-cultural-retrofit-job\/"},"modified":"2025-03-14T08:12:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T13:12:35","slug":"graham-takes-over-former-isg-cultural-retrofit-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/14\/graham-takes-over-former-isg-cultural-retrofit-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Graham takes over former ISG cultural retrofit job"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Graham has taken over a \u00a344m former ISG project to turn a former retail outlet into a cultural hub.<\/p>\n

The City Centre Cultural Gateway project is set to see a seven-storey former Ikea store in Coventry retrofitted with gallery and collections space, as well as a cafe, library, dance studio, conference area and post-production filming facilities.<\/p>\n

ISG<\/a> was awarded the contract for the project in July 2024 and had started on site when it collapsed in September<\/a>, leaving dozens of projects half-built and creditors more than \u00a3300m out of pocket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coventry City Council cabinet member for housing and communities Naeem Akhtar said: \u201cDespite unforeseen and challenging circumstances, Coventry City Council has moved swiftly to secure a new contractor to get the project back on track and within the approved budget, meaning no additional money is needed for the construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham regional director Ronan Hughes said: \u201cThe City Centre Cultural Gateway is an exciting scheme that will transform a former retail space into a world-class hub for arts and culture while providing long-term benefits for the local community, economy and creative industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the importance of getting this project back on track and our priority is to deliver a new cultural destination that meets the needs of all partners and stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The job was the last contract win announced by ISG before its collapse.<\/p>\n

It was the only bidder for the Coventry project first time around, according to a Freedom of Information response seen by Construction News<\/em>, but it was paid less than 4 per cent of its fee before entering administration.<\/p>\n

The scheme was originally due to be completed this year. Graham is now due to complete the work by the summer of 2026.<\/p>\n

The council bought the former Ikea site in 2020 and said its new use would be as a \u201ccentral hub for culture and community in the heart of the city centre\u201d, adding that it will \u201cnot only enrich Coventry\u2019s cultural landscape but also stimulate economic growth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Coventry University is set to take two floors of the revamped cultural hub building, with Arts Council England and the British Council also planning to move in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Ian Weinfass<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graham has taken over a \u00a344m former ISG project to turn a former retail outlet into a cultural hub. The City Centre Cultural Gateway project is set to see a seven-storey former Ikea store in Coventry retrofitted with gallery and collections space, as well as a cafe, library, dance studio, conference area and post-production filming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":833875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4237,1409],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-833874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-graham","8":"category-takes"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}