13 companies bid to redevelop former Aberdeen council HQ St Nicholas House

A TOTAL of 13 development companies have submitted bids for the redevelopment of the site of Aberdeen City Council’s former headquarters at St Nicholas House.

The eyesore 14-storey tower block, built in 1968, has lain empty since last year when the council moved to its new headquarters across the road in Broad Street to the refurbished Marischal College.

The building went on the market in March and it is understood that offers of up to £15million have been lodged for the former local authority office complex.

The council is hoping that the redevelopment of the site will pave the way for the regeneration of the east end of the city centre, bringing significant economic and environmental benefits to the area.

A council spokeswoman said: “Thirteen bids for the site in the city’s civic heart have been made by local, regional and national property developers. The 0.92 hectare brownfield site is considered to be suitable for a mix of uses, including hotel, office, residential, retail and leisure. The Bon Accord Quarter Masterplan gives developers guidance about proposals which would be acceptable for the site.

“The offers received are all for mixed-use schemes including hotel, office, retail and restaurant/café use and the scale of development ranges from about 180,000 square feet to 650,000 square feet with parking for 150 to 600 vehicles.”

She added: “All of the proposals envisage the partial pedestrianisation of Broad Street, with a number of the bids including proposals for significant spend on the public realm.”

Councillor Barney Crockett, the leader of the council, said: “We are very excited to have attracted this amount of interest from local, regional and national property developers and development which have national and international reputations, some of which are working with internationally renowned design teams.”