Broad Street Mall, previously known as the Butts Centre, is a large indoor shopping centre located in central Reading, England. There is a large multi-storey car park with direct access to the first floor of the centre. It is close to The Hexagon theatre and the offices of Reading Borough Council.
History
Plans for the shopping centre were made by the Reading Borough Council in 1956, however it took more than a decade to find a suitable site and buy it.
The centre was originally known as the Butts Centre, and was named after the adjacent St Mary's Butts. The current name relates to Reading's principal pedestrian shopping street, Broad Street, and the centre is situated at the west end of the street. It was opened in 1971. The centre was purchased by Doughty Hanson & Co in June 2001 and sold in March 2004. During this period they implemented a business strategy to update and refurbish the shopping centre to modern standards. The two other towers will consist of one being 5 storeys and the second being 22 storeys subject to planning permission not changing. In 2019, the walk-in centre was expanded due to its busy nature with £505,000 of funding from the NHS.
In September 2020, Co-Space Reading opened at Broad St. Mall which offers a flexible and spacious working environment for local businesses. There are 15 fully furnished office suites available to rent, ranging from between 4, 6 and 10 person, up to 50+ person spaces.
See also
- The Oracle, another shopping centre nearby.