Oxford's newest hotel The Store is expected to open in about a year's time.
The former Boswells department store has now been demolished inside and the new building is starting to take shape, according to a contractor.
Shoppers were shocked when Boswells in Cornmarket shut for good in 2020 and then Debenhams also closed.
Read again: Oxford's empty Debenhams - what next
Reef completed the purchase of the Boswells building as part of a joint venture with La Salle Investment Management and Oxford City Council.
Reef, working with contractors Gilbert-Ash, is converting the former department store into a 101-bedroom boutique hotel and work is well under way.
Eleanor Alexander, a design director leading the project for Reef, said last year she hoped the hotel would be ready to open in the spring or summer of 2023.
But contractors on site have since estimated the new hotel will be open by the autumn of next year.
Once open, The Store will give a big boost to the Broad Street end of Cornmarket, which has looked increasingly shabby in recent years.
There are still no concrete plans for the defunct Debenhams building in Magdalen Street, and the former NatWest bank branch on the corner of Cornmarket and George Street also remains empty.
Read more: 10 striking photos of 1977 include bread strike
Meanwhile, in the centre of Cornmarket, the £40m Jesus College revamp of Northgate House is nearing completion.
A member of staff working on site for contractor Gilbert-Ash said earlier this year: "Boswells as we knew it has completely gone - it has been demolished inside and all the different departments have gone - there's just a huge hole where they used to be.
"Part of the ground area is going to be a bar and there will also be a roof terrace.
"There's still a lot of work to do to complete all the bedrooms - it's going to be a four-star hotel."
The roof terrace could be a major attraction, giving spectacular views of the dreaming spires in the city centre.
It is not yet known if guests will have a good view of Antony Gormley's naked iron man sculpture, which was placed on the roof of a nearby Exeter College building in Broad Street in 2009.
Read more: Iron man set to soar over city
Gormley said the 7ft figure, cast in iron and weighing half a tonne, was inspired by his own physique.
He said at the time: "The casual passer-by will ask, ‘What is that naked iron bloke doing up there?’, for which I hope there will never be a single satisfactory answer.
“It indicates an exposed place, separated from shelter of the architecture that might otherwise contain it, where one man once was and by implication anyone could be.
"The context is a critical one – this corner is the most visible part of Exeter College to the outer world."
Its price tag was believed to be in excess of £250,000.
Read more: Boswells in Oxford set to close
Work by Gilbert-Ash includes the retention of the historic facades, part demolition, and the addition of a fifth floor which will include a rooftop bar and external space overlooking the rooftops.
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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF
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