256 January 2016 - Gryffe Advertizer

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Construction gets under way
on Russell Institute
Work has now started
to bring one of the
jewels in Paisley’s
architectural crown
back into use – and
bring almost 80 new
office jobs into the
town centre.
Builders are now
on site inside the
A-listed Russell
Institute as they kick
off the year-long construction phase of the £4.5m project to restore the former
health centre.
The building on the corner of New St and Causeyside St – notable for its
distinctive statues – has been empty since 2011, but Renfrewshire Council
this year took on ownership from the NHS, and secured funding to restore it to
its former glory.
When it opens in late 2016, the building will house a skills and training hub,
with the Scottish Government jobs agency Skills Development Scotland as the
anchor tenant.
They will be joined in the building by staff from the council’s successful ‘Invest
in Renfrewshire’ employability scheme.
Over the next year, a number of specialist contractors will be on site to help
restore unique features including the stonework, statues and railings.
Scaffolding will be erected round the building in the next few weeks, but access
will be maintained to neighbouring businesses, and disruption will be kept to
a minimum.
Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan visited the building to meet
bosses from main contractors CBC, who have worked on other historic buildings
including Paisley Town Hall.
Councillor Macmillan said: “The Russell Institute is one of the finest examples
of Paisley’s outstanding architectural legacy – within Scotland only Edinburgh
has a greater concentration of listed buildings than we do.
The project to restore the Russell Institute has been years in the making and we
are delighted it is now entering the construction stage.
This is just the latest bit of good news in the ongoing rebirth of Paisley town
centre, with plans moving ahead for a £56.7m revamp of Paisley Museum,
development on the Arnotts site nearing completion, and the Townscape
Heritage Initiative which has transformed Causeyside Street almost finished
too.
Making the most of Paisley’s built heritage will be a crucial component of the
town’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021,
as that is all about using unique
elements of our past to transform the
town’s future.”
The work is being funded by
Renfrewshire Council, the Scottish
Government’s Regeneration Capital
Grant Fund and Historic Environment
Scotland. The Paisley Development
Trust kicked the project off by
commissioning an initial feasibility
study into its use.
The Russell Institute was opened in
1927 and was gifted to Paisley Burgh
by Miss Agnes Russell, who wanted it
to be used as a child welfare clinic as
a memorial to her two brothers.