Look Inside the Produce Exchange, a Hidden Wonder of Liverpool City Centre
A historic Liverpool city centre building may be turned into dozens of luxury apartments – including some overlooking the world-famous Mathew Street. Step inside the stunning Produce Exchange, a Grade II listed Liverpool city centre building brimming with spectacular features currently hidden from view.
More than 100 years old, the glorious building is a developer’s dream with features from an old war memorial to perfectly preserved stained glass windows throughout its six floors.
And the building could soon be given a new lease of life, with plans submitted to Liverpool council to regenerate the building and create dozens of luxury flats.
Built in 1902, the Produce Exchange runs through from Victoria Street to world-famous Beatles hotspot Mathew Street. Currently vacant, the huge site has been used for a variety of purposes – from a goods depot to offices.
It is currently at the centre of ambitious plans to bring the building back into life. Planning applications have been submitted for the ground floor to be converted into two restaurants, Grillstock and Turtle Bay, while developers Foster Marlon are looking to convert the upper five floors into luxury apartments to be marketed around the world – for people “who want to own a piece of an old treasure”.
And those upper floors are brimming with original features – from mosaics to a magnificent stained-glass window decorated arcade that runs through the heart of the building. While it remains split into an assortment of offices the grandeur of the site is not lost as sunlight streams through beautiful stained glass windows that overlook every level of the main staircase.
The highest reaches of the building offer stunning views over the city, Mathew Street and Victoria Street, with remaining office furniture revealing how the building’s former occupants had some of the best desktop views in Liverpool.
Now in the hands of brothers Rubaid Zaidi and Uzair Zaidi, directors at Foster Marlon, the upper floors of the building look destined for a grand regeneration that makes the most of their original features.
Excited about their plans for the Produce Exchange, Rubaid said he and Uzair were proud to be working on such a prestigious site and were keen to do it justice.
He said: “We don’t want to convert this into something mediocre, we want to make these some of the best apartments in the city centre because there’s nothing like this that exists.
“I think this is a very good opportunity for Foster Marlon to showcase the city of Liverpool… this is a perfect opportunity and platform for us to showcase that it won’t be just like any other scheme.”
