Hotel plan mooted at former Edinburgh HMRC office block

Plans have been lodged to repurpose a vacant Edinburgh office block into a 166-bedroom hotel.

Michael Laird Architects and Cannon Capital Developments have teamed up on the proposal for Meldrum House at Drumsheugh Gardens.

The former HMRC office building is currently wrapped in material over concrete cladding.



The planning statement said: “Meldrum House was built in the late 1950s as a replacement for the former St Andrew’s Free Church, constructed as a purpose-built office block.

“Since then it has been in continuous use however has, like many buildings from this era, suffered from neglect and a lack of proper maintenance.

“Recently, the concrete cladding began to spall and fall away from the main structure, resulting in the building being overclad with a protective membrane.

“As the office market moves to more upmarket offerings, the building is no longer suitable for office accommodation, either in its current or potentially refurbished form.”



It added: “The most suitable and commercially effective approach for the building’s redevelopment is to refurbish it as a hotel, a use that suits the building’s existing layout and complements the surrounding area.

“Our proposals are to refurbish the building to provide 37,000 sq ft of accommodation consisting of 166 bedrooms with supporting accommodation including reception, back of house and a resident’s lounge at ground floor.”

The hotel brand The Resident is lined up as operator.


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