THE upper floors of the iconic Greytown House in Colchester town centre is being converted to plush apartments.

The High Street development is set to be finished this summer after being acquired by Manor Investments on behalf of a private developer.

Eight of the high-quality studio and one-bedroom apartments have already been reserved, leaving 27 still remaining with Connells.

They are on the market for between £145,000 and £204,000.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

What was once the job centre was bought by Fenwick in July 2012.

Jill Anders, company secretary, said: “Fenwick still owns the building, although we sold the upper floors to Manor Investments in January.

“The building was used initially to facilitate the redevelopment of the Fenwick store.

“The ground floor and basement has since been redeveloped into the three restaurant units which opened at the beginning of the year.”

Manor Investments says Colchester is one of the fastest growing towns in the country with strong local employers and excellent connectivity to London.

A Connells spokesman claims the main selling points of the development is its proximity to Colchester Town rail station making it ideal for commuters.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Historian Andrew Phillips traced the history of Greytown House to when it was the Cups Hotel.

Greytown House can after the hotel was demolished which was a hotly contested issue.

Mr Phillips said: “Any High Street building has an ancient footprint and the issue with Colchester is the slow erosion of historic buildings, particularly in the High Street.

“The Cups Hotel was a multi-period building including a fantastic regency ballroom.

“The borough council, led by the Conservatives at the time, decided to demolish it.

“There’s a long history of flattening sites in Colchester.”

Speaking on the exterior of what became Greytown House, Mr Phillips described it as “bland architecturally”.

He said: “A lot of money was spent covering it with dressed stone.

“It would have made an interesting residential development if it was still a hotel.”

  • Read more about the Cups Hotel in Andrew Phillips’ forthcoming column in the Essex County Standard and Gazette next month.

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