Revealed: Property firm wants to transform Edinburgh office block into 49 New Town apartments

Edinburgh’s New Town could be set for almost 50 new “high-quality” apartments on the site of a former office complex.

Centrum House, on the city’s Dundas Street, has been brought to the market by property consultancy JLL as a mixed-use development opportunity. The site is said to benefit from a planning consent for the demolition of the existing office building and the construction of a new 58,000-square-foot development made up of 49 apartments as well as ground floor commercial space.

Property experts said the development was located in a “sought-after residential neighbourhood”, with the area’s Georgian properties providing a range of apartments and townhouses “popular with young professionals as well as families”. Interested parties will also be offered the chance to purchase the vacant brownfield site to the rear of the development on Henderson Street, where a detailed planning application for nine complementary residential apartments is currently pending decision.

An image showing the location of Centrum House on Edinburgh's Dundas Street.

JLL said the launch of the site followed the news that house prices in Edinburgh are forecasted to grow by 17 per cent over the next five years. This is according to the firm’s recent “Big Six” research, which tracks residential development activity, prices and rents across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester.

Makela Milne, residential and development land director at JLL, said: “The Edinburgh residential market continues to be an attractive prospect for developers, and we are predicting strong levels of house price growth in the city over the next few years.

“With this in mind, Centrum House presents a great opportunity to acquire a site for high quality residential development in one of Edinburgh’s best neighbourhoods. The design provides ground floor commercial space, with well-designed apartments offering a range of secure car parking, private terraces and landscaped open space to the rear.’’

JLL added: “Recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site, the area benefits from close proximity to a range of nearby amenities including independent cafes, bars, shops and galleries. Dundas Street also enjoys strong public transport links to the city centre and neighbouring suburbs, as well as tram and train connectivity.”

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