City of Edinburgh Council has approved plans for the £60m Chris Stewart Group regeneration of The Registers in the city centre, which will create 700 jobs.
The plans for The Registers, an area to the south east of St Andrew Square, will see two important heritage buildings given a new lease of life, new office accommodation and street level shops, bars, restaurants, a hotel, and residential/serviced apartments.
As part of the plans, 90% of the listed fabric of the site will be restored, including two key historic listed buildings currently on the ‘at risk’ register. New life will be given to one of the most important art deco banking halls as a restaurant at the neo-classical 42 St Andrew Square and reinstating a former warehouse at 28 West Register Street into active commercial use while preserving its remarkable Venetian Gothic façade.
Buildings along part of West Register Street will make way for c. 60,000 sq ft of much needed high quality Grade A office accommodation, designed to attract new businesses to the city and essential to the rejuvenation of the area, which forms an important gateway to the new St James development.
The intention is to start work on site in early 2016.