ONE of the oldest buildings in Ipswich is to get a new lease of life after it was sold for conversion into a restaurant and shop.The Isaac Lord building on the Waterfront has been lovingly restored by current owners Stuart and Georgina Cooper – but now it has been sold to allow the final phase of work to be completed.
ONE of the oldest buildings in Ipswich is to get a new lease of life after it was sold for conversion into a restaurant and shop.
The Isaac Lord building on the Waterfront has been lovingly restored by current owners Stuart and Georgina Cooper – but now it has been sold to allow the final phase of work to be completed.
Contracts have been exchanged on the sale, with final completion scheduled for October 1.
Mr Cooper said he was pleased the building was being sold to a local businessman who wanted to take the restoration project forward.
He said: "We have invested a lot of time and money in restoring the building, but it reached the stage where that part of the work is finished and we really needed someone else to come in and finish the conversion work.
"This deal will not affect the existing businesses there – the pub and the art gallery – but it will allow the rest of the building to come back into use."
The sale was handled by local estate agents Penningtons, who were not able to reveal the identity of the purchaser of the building.
A spokeswoman for Penningtons said: "It is all a bit premature for that to be released at present – we shall make a statement soon."
The Isaac Lord building dates from Tudor times, although it is named after a Victorian trader who bought it off the Cobbold family.
Planning permission has already been granted for a two-floor bar/restaurant.
There are plans for a Covent Garden style area with small boutiques, craft shops and coffee bars.
Permission has also been granted for three retail outlets in a large paved courtyard, which will be opened up to the quayside.
Today's news comes just after the Star revealed that Pauls Maltings had been sold for redevelopment – and marks another landmark in the redevelopment of the Waterfront area.
What do you think of the redevelopment of the building? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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