Plans have been put forward to turn an iconic city building into student halls.
A planning application has been submitted to Dundee City Council to transform the former Dundee College of Commerce building on Constitution Road into “bespoke student accommodation”.
The college campus was built back in 1970 but closed in 2011.
For the past decade it has lain empty and become a target for vandals.
© DC Thomson & Co. Ltd
Previously planning permission was granted in 2016 for a £15 million plan to transform the old college campus into 111 apartments, 24 short-stay serviced apartments, a laundrette, a café, a cinema and a gym.
Building work on this plan was due to start in July 2018 and be ready for its first residents by the following summer, but it fell through in July 2019 with developers citing a number of reasons, including a lack of funding and the UK’s exit from the European Union.
It was then put back on the market in 2019 for £1.25m by Shepherd Chartered Surveyors and JLL.
© D Roger
Now Scodd Ltd, which is based in Leamington Spa, is hoping to revive the abandoned building and turn it into “bespoke” flats.
Reports last year found the number of students staying in Dundee had increased by 4.48% over the previous five years.
With approximately 20,200 students living in the city, including 15,900 at Dundee University and 4,300 at Abertay University, this means there are 2.7 students for every student bed in the city.
On Scodd Ltd’s application form to planning bosses at the local authority, it says public meetings about the proposed development will not be able to take place because of the coronavirus outbreak.
© Mhairi Edwards
Instead, a new website and an email address will be created for those who want to find out more about the planned development, and it will be advertised in the local press.
Both Hilltown Community Council and City Centre and Harbour Community Council have been notified of the proposals, as well as the council’s regeneration manager for the Blackness and Ancrum area.
