In 2020, Scottish Widows left the Dalkeith Road building after nearly 45 years to “reduce the levels of unused space”. The building will still be used for offices, but Schroders Capital Real Estate hopes to open up the site to allow the development of a new residential quarter.

Plans lodged to the City of Edinburgh Council on Wednesday reveal that around 200 flats are proposed as part of the residential quarter, 35% of which will be affordable.

The new office space will undergo a full renovation to become an all-electric building that meets net zero carbon performance targets, reports The Scotsman.

Rebecca Gates, head of UK asset management at Schroders Capital’s Real Estate team, said: “We have challenged the design team to deliver an environmentally sustainable solution giving the building and its surrounding area a new lease of life and purpose.”

Nick Ball from Corran Properties added: “From the outset, the priority has been to preserve and retain as much of the building’s fabric and history as possible, whilst respecting its Category A listed status and its position within the Southside Conservation Area. As custodians of the building, our client provided clear goals to ensure every possible option was explored to achieve this. The building is, however, from another era and with so many advances in environmental and sustainability technology, it is no longer viable as a modern, office environment.

“By reducing the size of the building’s footprint, we can retain and improve many of the building’s historical features, create a more manageable office building, whilst the new residential quarter will create a high-quality neighbourhood that will complement the surrounding area and provide much-needed new housing in a sustainable, urban location.”

Over the coming months, the project team will present proposals to the local community and interested parties, before submitting applications for planning permission and listed building consent to Edinburgh Council.

The first public consultation event will be held within the building on Tuesday, May 31 between 2pm – 8pm. This will be followed up by two online live chat events via the project website, which is not yet live.