Demolition a sign of capital’s property revival
DEMOLITION work begins on the south-west corner of St Andrew Square, Edinburgh tomorrow in a further sign of a revival in the commercial property market. The derelict buildings will be replaced by a striking modern complex that will include a replica facade of the 1960s former Scottish Provident headquarters.
Construction work begins early next year and will provide 105,000 sq ft of grade A offices, retail and leisure use in what Keith Dobson, director of Savills, says is the only garden square development in the UK. The building should be complete at the end of 2016 and will help to alleviate a shortage of top quality office space in the city centre.
Dobson sees the development, close to a tram stop, as part of a rebirth of the eastern end of the central core, with the St James shopping centre due to be remodelled and interest expressed in a former bank in St Andrew Square that was owned by ex-Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov’s Ukio Bankas.