Evening News (Edinburgh)
MARK McLAUGHLIN
August 12, 2010, Thursday
1 Edition
A "BRUTAL" 1970s office block in Haymarket would be turned into a hotel under plans unveiled today.
Plans have been lodged to turn Haymarket House, the imposing former government office block opposite the station on Clifton Terrace, into a 157-bedroom hotel, with shops on the ground floor and two new mews houses at the back.
The project's architect, Moray Place-based Comprehensive Design Architects (CDA), also plans to spruce up the hotel's appearance by hiding its dull, grey brickwork behind more attractive sandstone cladding.
CDA architect David Hannah said: "The current brutal appearance of the building is particularly obvious from Haymarket station itself and also from Morrison Street where it is viewed axially.
"Haymarket House was designed as an office building in the early 1970s and as such has limited floor-to-floor heights making its use as a modern office building no longer viable.
"One of the key objectives was to create a new use for the building by retaining its structural frame and creating a dramatic improvement."
The hotel is intended to capitalise on the major developments going on in the area, particularly the expansion of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
If approved, it is likely to be completed ahead of the Tiger Development's scaled-down hotel plan for the Morrison Street goods yard, after its towering 17-storey hotel was thrown out by Scottish ministers.
It will also benefit from a tram stop right outside its front door.
An operator for the hotel has yet to be chosen, but the developers plan to approach major operators and complete the final design to suit their needs.
Steven Black, associate director of planning agents Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "The primary element of the proposed development is a change of use to form a 157-bedroom hotel.
"This will involve stripping out much of the internal part of the building.
"It is also proposed that the external shell of the building is stripped and re-clad. This presents a significant opportunity to improve the visual appearance of the building.
"To complete the courtyard to the rear, two mews dwellings are proposed, designed to match the historical form and dimensions of the existing properties."
The plans were welcomed by city centre councillor David Beckett. He said: "I think its important that we get the building back into use because it's not the most attractive thing to look at, and it sits in a very prominent space.
"I'm impressed by the fact that the developers have taken into account how it's viewed from the street as well as how it's going to look inside. The sandstone cladding will make it more pleasing to the eye.
"It won't struggle to fill its capacity, particularly being so close to the EICC."
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