A notorious former hotel and homeless hostel in Glasgow's east end is to be transformed into affordable homes.
Glasgow City Council has approved £20.3million plans by Wheatley Group to convert the 1930s B-listed Bellgrove Hotel into 14 energy efficient flats, eight of which will be wheelchair accessible.
Permission has also been granted for a further 56 flats to be built on adjoining land.
Key features of the original hotel building will be preserved, including the front and east-facing elevations overlooking Gallowgate and the decorative bands of coloured tiles.
Building work on the 17 one-bedroom and 53 two-bedroom homes is due to start later this year, with work being completed in spring 2026.
Glasgow's Bellgrove Hotel was notorious as a blight on the city where homeless were housed in conditions described as "like a Soviet gulag".
It 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.
Lindsay Lauder, Director of Development and Regeneration at Wheatley Group, said: “This decision paves the way for a bright new future for the Bellgrove and for the Gallowgate.
“Plans will see us invest £20.3 million transforming the building into 14 modern, spacious, energy-efficient affordable flats, while still retaining large sections of the former hotel to preserve its long architectural history.
“By working closely with our partners Glasgow City Council and Scottish Government we’ll also be able to build 56 homes for mid-market rent on the surrounding land and deliver additional much-needed affordable housing in the east of the city.”
The regeneration plans will retain the historic façade. However, the rear elevation and western wing – which are too narrow to accommodate flats – will be demolished, with work expected to start on site by June.
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The completed homes will be owned and managed by Lowther, part of Wheatley Group, for mid-market rent.
Mid-market rent is for households who have an income of less than £40,000 a year and have no priority for social rent. Mid-market rents with Lowther start at £459 a month.
This ambitious project is part of the ongoing work of Transforming Communities (TC:G), a partnership between Wheatley Group, Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government.
Councillor Kenny McLean said: “The renewal of the Bellgrove Hotel by Transforming Communities: Glasgow partners is the next step of the regeneration of the Gallowgate and paves the way for the transformation of another East End neighbourhood."
Collective Architecture have been named as the architects for the regeneration project, with CCG (Scotland) Ltd as the main contractor.
Neal Whitaker, Project Architect from Collective Architecture, said: “The social history of the Bellgrove Hotel is well-known.
"Less widely recognised is the architectural significance of the building, which is one of only two Listed buildings in the area and one of the handful of surviving Art Moderne buildings in Glasgow.
“By retaining the architecturally significant front portion of the building, this significant landmark will become part of an ambitious regeneration of the area and a symbol for positive change.
"The new-build block on the brownfield site to the East will incorporate subtle references to the moderne style, creating an architectural dialogue with the hotel building and a strong identity for the development as a whole.”
Wheatley Group has built more than 200 new homes as part of the regeneration of Gallowgate. The first two phases – the majority of which were homes for social rent –were completed in 2013 and 2020.
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