Coventry city centre is undergoing a number of major transformations this year.

There are several cranes on the city's skyline and boarded-up buildings awaiting a makeover.

But if you've strolled by one recently and wondered just what's going on there, we're here to help.

Here's all the major building work going on in Coventry city centre at the moment.

Upper Precinct

A huge project to transform the Upper Precinct is now well underway.

Earlier this year the underground loos were removed and it's now time to get rid of the old escalator.

Work is in progress to make way for a new escalator and lifts that will be installed in place of the landmark green entry to the Upper Precinct.

The Upper Precinct

Eventually there will be a new entrance into West Orchards, shop front improvements, 75 new student flats and the refurbishment of the empty BHS building.

What's more, the brick ramp from Broadgate to the upper levels will be removed.

Bishop Gate

Last September, the first phase of the Bishop Gate development was completed, with the three new orange and yellow tower blocks dominating the skyline.

Preparation for phase two - two further towers - is currently well underway, and when completed, will bring the total number of student bedrooms up to 1,116.

According to planning documents, the fourth tower will stand at five storeys next to Tower Street and will then rise to eight storeys for the rest of its length.

Phase 2 of the Bishop Gate development in Coventry

The fifth tower, which will be connected to the fourth, will rise from nine storeys to 15 storeys and then, halfway along the ring road frontage, will rise again to 18 storeys.

Coventry Boys and Girls Club

Another mammoth student block is going up on Whitefriars Lane opposite Coventry University's new Health and Science building.

The development will consist of two 18 and 16-storey towers, separated by a central landscaped courtyard.

CGIs of how the facility will look. Image by Coventry Boys and Girls Club.
CGIs of how the facility will look

It will also house the Coventry Boys and Girls Club (CBGC), who will move out their current 1960s home on the same plot and into a brand new centre worth more than £1.5million on the western side of the development.

Earlier this year, a new rooftop football pitch at the Coventry Boys and Girls Club was also given the go-ahead by planners.

Work is expected to be completed by summer 2020.

Drapers' Hall

Coventry is getting a classical music venue in the heart of the city centre.

The historic Drapers' Hall is undergoing a £5.5m transformation thanks to the Prince's Foundation and Historic Coventry Trust.

The building, in Bayley Lane, will be used as a centre for educating young musicians from Coventry schools and for the performance of professional classical music.

Drapers Hall in Coventry

Excavation work is currently taking place at the back of Drapers' Hall to uncover more about the city's medieval history.

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The current dig at the city centre site is the continuation of a project that began in the 1980s but was halted when it ran out of money.

The Historic Coventry Trust has said the restoration will take place ready for when Coventry is UK City of Culture 2021.

However it is hoped that the venue will open for summer 2020.

Telegraph Hotel

Work is well underway at the former Coventry Telegraph offices in Corporation Street turning it into a £120millon luxury boutique hotel.

Artists impression of the Telegraph Hotel

The hotel, which has previously been reported to be opening in time for Coventry's status as UK City of Culture in 2021, will officially open in 2020.

It will feature duplex penthouse suites, restaurant, meeting and conferencing facilities and a rooftop bar overlooking Belgrade Square.

Work began last year on the project which saw Complex Development Projects (CDP) and Coventry City Council, Olympian Homes and Bespoke Hotels sign a deal.

Bishop Street

Bishop Street will soon be home to another student accommodation development.

A huge hole in the city's skyline that used to be part of Coventry Telegraph's former home is being transformed.

A CGI of iQ Student Accommodation's complex which will be located on Bishop Street and Upper Well Street
A CGI of iQ Student Accommodation's complex which will be located on Bishop Street and Upper Well Street

Part of the large site, which covers land bounded by Bishop Street, Lamb Street and Chapel Street, was derelict land and some of it was disused buildings, which were knocked down at the end of last year.

Two new student accommodation towers are currently being built in their place.

According to the planning documents, the student block will have approximately 778 bedrooms.

The block will form part of the wider site that Coventry's new boutique hotel is being built on.

Players Entertainment

A multi-million pound development will turn a former Coventry nightclub into a huge e-gaming and karaoke centre.

The former nightclub building, which was home to The Pink Parrot and Society, on Tower Street is being turned into a brand new Players Entertainment venue.

This is the theme that the owners are imagining for the site

When it opens its doors for the first time later this year, Players Entertainment will be the biggest venue of its kind in the UK.

It will be home to a ground floor full of e-gaming stations, along with a stage for multi-player video game tournaments.

Upstairs, the first and second floors will offer karaoke, in 25 private rooms.

Coventry based entrepreneur Jeffy Li has invested £1.3million into the complex, taking his overall investments in Coventry to just under £20million since graduating from Coventry University in 2001.

James Starley building

Coventry University's James Starley building on Cox Street has been boarded up ahead of demolition work starting in October.

Once it is gone, the area will be transformed into a temporary open space for residents to enjoy.

The new Starley Gardens will stretch the length of the Cox Street where the James Starley Building has sat since 1963.

James Starley Building will be demolished to make way for temporary landscape scheme

However, the university intends to obtain planning permission from Coventry City Council to secure the development of new buildings on this site in the future.

The Coventry University estates team says the demolition should be complete by March 2020.

Train station

A scheme to improve Coventry train station is now underway.

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When it is completed, the new footbridge is intended to improve passenger flow and congestion on the platforms.

It will also connect the new station entrance and multi-storey car park.

A second station building with shops, new multi-storey car park and a ticket office, as well as a bus interchange on the Central 6 side, will now follow. 

The Co-operative

The former Co-operative building in Corporation Street is being transformed by EDG Property into a mixed-use complex containing 63 high specification apartments - and work is almost complete on the development.

The luxury development will have its own cafes, restaurants, a rooftop terrace and the region’s only indoor park, which will feature 10-metre trees along each side.

A CGI of how The Co-Operative building will look
A CGI of how The Co-Operative building will look

Two bedroom apartments start at £234,950, with the one bed apartments starting at an asking price of around £150,000.

Café Morso, Steak Out and Rodizio Rico will all have restaurants at the bottom of the complex.

Belgrade Plaza

Work has started on the last part of the Belgrade Plaza development.

The first development in the area was completed 12 years ago by the multi-storey car park, and now the finish is in sight.

There are also three new accommodation blocks - providing a hotel, student rooms and residential flats - being built on a corner plot next to the Premier Inn and the multi-storey car park, set to be completed this year.

What the development will look like once completed

The final building to be constructed will be a new £6.8m development especially for the older generation living in the city centre.

The completed scheme will see a three-storey building featuring 45 self-contained apartments for the elderly.

City Centre South

City Centre South, a £300m redevelopment project to transform the city centre, has hit a number of delays.

The scheme is supposed to bring the city the second largest retail centre in the Midlands with shops, restaurants, a new cinema, bowling alley, hotel and more.

Artist's impressions of how the council hopes City Centre South will look once completed

But work is yet to start on any major development as plans are still being drawn up, despite outline planning permission being granted in 2012.

The council has insisted that it is on schedule to get the scheme up and running within the next few years.

Work has already began on stripping out Coventry Point, which is being demolished in preparation for the major project.

From the outside, the 13-storey building largely looks just as it has since its construction was completed in 1975.

But the first major visible change is about to happen, with the demolition of both a restaurant underneath the building and a bridge link to the Barracks car park.

Cathedral Lanes

Cathedral Lanes dining quarter has been transformed in recent years with new restaurants and bars popping up regularly.

The most recent additions include The Botantist and MOD Pizza - but there are still more to come.

Work progresses on behind Cathedral Lanes where Turtle Bay will be situated

Cathedral Lanes will be getting a new Caribbean restaurant, Turtle Bay - although an opening date has not yet been announced.

The area where the Coventry Cross used to be - at the rear of Cathedral Lanes and next to the Slug & Lettuce - is being transformed to make way for the new restaurant and cocktail bar.

A new e-gaming café will also be opening on the first floor of Cathedral Lanes.

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