It has been empty for more than four years – but a prominent Coney Street unit now has a new occupier.
Social enterprise Fabrication Crafts has moved into the former River Island building on the busy York street.
The move has been made possible thanks to the owners of the property, the Helmsley Group.
Fabrication Crafts isn’t moving far. The indie shop, which supports dozens of local artists and makers, has been based in Coney Street since November 2018.
But it had been looking for a new home after its lease came to an end this month.
Helmsley has stepped in, with Fabrication moving to the vacant space at 19 Coney Street.
River Island traded from here until closing in March 2018.
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Next and Monsoon still trade from other parts of the 50,000 sq ft property, which was bought by Helmsley last month.
Alexia Swift-Cookson, head of asset management at Helmsley Group, said: “As a well-established York-based business, Helmsley is passionate about supporting local organisations and helping the city to prosper.
“We are fully committed to bringing a new lease of life to York’s riverfront and redeveloping Coney Street as a high-quality commercial destination.
“We’re delighted to have supported Fabrication Crafts through this letting, ensuring it can continue to make a positive impact in the area.
“Coney Street has a rich history of independent trade stretching back many hundreds of years and Fabrication Crafts is a fantastic organisation continuing this tradition.
We look forward to watching it go from strength to strength supported by us in Coney Street over the years to come.”
Dawn Wood, chief executive of Fabrication Crafts, added: “We are hugely grateful to Helmsley Group for its help in securing this letting, which enables us to stay on the amazing Coney Street.
“Our new and bigger shop will enable us to support more local makers, have creative workspaces and launch a community hub bringing together local organisations.”
Helmsley Group and Fabrication Crafts are both partners in the Street Life Project, which is being led by University of York researchers.
Street Life has received funding of £469,000 from the Government’s Community Renewal Fund to not only explore the 1,000-year history of Coney Street but support the creation of opportunities for the future.