Malls · England
Friary Centre
Brewery closed 1968, redeveloped as retail mall 1978. 10-acre site. No post-1978 operational data. · summary, model-written
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from.
Site profile3 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
Under 20 acres
This site: 10 acres newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisRedeveloped
This site: Friary Centre record · all sites with thisRetail (continued)
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Retrofit builtnewtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Strategy | RedevelopedWikipedia |
| New uses | retailWikipedia |
| What is there now | Friary Centrenewtypes-extraction |
| Retrofit year | 1978newtypes-extraction |
| Redeveloper | MEPC plcnewtypes-extraction |
Deals and debt
| Date | Event | Price | Parties | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Sold | — | MEPC plc | Wikipedia |
Summary, model-written
Friary Centre in Guildford, England, was a brewery closed in 1968. MEPC plc purchased the site that same year, demolished the brewery by 1974, and began retrofitting it as a retail mall in 1978. The project was completed as a built retail space. The site is 10 acres, matching several peer redevelopment projects in the database. No post-1978 operational data (e.g., tenant mix, performance) is provided. The record lacks current ownership details beyond the developer. The 'after_notes' field is redundant. The context peers all share similar size (9-10.5 acres), redevelopment strategy, and status, but no success metrics are included. The record is marked 'draft' and lacks verification beyond the provided sources.
Why. The assessment strictly uses the provided facts: closure year, developer timeline, retrofit year, size, strategy, and context peers. Missing data (e.g., current ownership, retail performance, post-1978 metrics) is explicitly noted as unknown.
Where it stands. The retrofit was executed as planned (1978 construction), but no evidence of ongoing success or challenges is in the record. The site is confirmed as a built retail mall.
For a planner
- Size matches peer redevelopments (10 acres)
- Strategy confirmed as redevelopment
- Timeline of closure → sale → demolition → construction is complete
For a developer
- Original use was non-retail (brewery)
- Developer (MEPC plc) executed retrofit per plan
- No post-1978 operational data available
What we do not know yet
- No current ownership or management details
- No evidence of retail performance or tenant success
- Context peers show strategy similarity but no outcome data
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Midtown Square Mall, Charlotte, NC · Malls · similar size (10 acres); same strategy: redevelop
- City Center, Columbus, OH · Malls · similar size (9 acres); same strategy: redevelop
- Mathis Airport, Forsyth County, GA · Other · similar size (10.53 acres); same strategy: redevelop
- Former Kmart property in Plymouth Township, Plymouth Township, MI · Big boxes · similar size (9 acres); same strategy: redevelop
Elsewhere on the web
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History and original facts
| Closed | 1968newtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Acres | 10.0newtypes-extraction |
| Notes | Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: A former brewery site was demolished and redeveloped into the Friary Centre (a shopping mall) in Guildford. |
Not yet recorded: GLA, year opened, original developer. Know it? Tell us.
Timeline
- 1968 Brewing ceased
- 1968 Site sold to developer
- 1968 Closed
- 1974 Brewery demolished
- 1978 Construction of Friary Centre began
- 1978 Retrofit: redevelop
Sources
- Guildford · CC BY-SA 4.0
5 quoted sentences
construction of the Friary Centre
Brewing ceased in December 1968
the site was sold to the developer, MEPC plc
The brewery was demolished in 1974