Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Changes to a former Dorchester town centre department store have been agreed – to offer 16 small ‘co-living’ units.
The proposal, at Princes House in Trinity Street, include one shop unit, instead of the three originally proposed.
The development company behind the proposals say that only one commercial unit is now considered viable.
That unit is being taken up by Snap Games which has existing businesses in Bridport and Axminster and is due to open this weekend.
The rest of the ground floor will now be converted to 16 small rooms with shared kitchens and other communal areas.
The basement space at the former Dorchester Genges store is expected to be converted to a communal gym under the latest plans for the four storey site which dates back almost 100 years.
The latest changes to the plans include the removal of canopies, one of the features of the building, with the remaining former shop units taken up by co-living rooms, some with room for only a bed and a shower.
The basement plans details two laundry areas, a bike store and a gym.
The building once had a row of shops on the Trinity Street frontage, the corner site having been used for Covid vaccinations in recent years.
Initially the plans had been to retain all the retail units but the developers say that, since then, market conditions have changed and the chances of being able to find occupiers for all of the units is slim. The three units have been marketed since 2023 with little interest.
Said an agent acting for the building’s owners: “We do feel that the property will better serve the wider community as residential accommodation rather than commercial units as the need for secondary retail space within Dorchester has declined substantially over the last decade, while the demand for residential units is continually increasing to a point where demand outstrips supply.”
In recent years the first, second and third floors of the building, parts of which date back to the later 1920s, have been converted to apartments with a small car park to the rear off Princes Street.
The new ground floor rooms will have new windows fitted a metre back from new pavement-edge railings. The developers say they would not expect the occupiers to need a car, but some spaces might be found in the existing car park if required.
