AS Cooper & Sons received Planning permission last week to demolish the company's Front Street location and replace it with a new, seven-storey, mixed use building.

However, the store's facelift is unlikely to happen any time in the near future, The Royal Gazette was told.

Plans to convert the building and add executive offices were originally approved in 1997 but the company has yet to secure financing to move ahead with its ambitious project for the property which runs the block from 59 Front Street back to 26 Reid Street.

Operations Manager Somers Cooper said yesterday plans were resubmitted last summer because previous permission had lapsed.

"When we go ahead all depends on the financing which is not in place," he said. "We're waiting on that and hopefully it will happen."

Mr. Cooper said the only significant change to the plans is that they now call for the entire building to be demolished and replaced.

"It was to essentially be knocked to a shell but we discovered it was more economical to knock the building down," Mr. Somers said. "The new plans would still include the AS Cooper retail shop on the ground."