A MULTI-MILLION pound deal to transform the first block of buildings on Princes Street is just weeks away from being signed, the Evening News has learned.
A legal agreement for the redevelopment – which will include a new hotel and breakthrough to Hope Street Lane – has been drawn up with the owner of the flagship House of Fraser store and four other property owners.
A single investor has been lined up to transform the block, which council chiefs hope will happen in tandem with a revamp of Charlotte Square along the lines of the recent work at St Andrew Square.
The latest moves are part of the council's 20-year "string of pearls" vision which foresees various blocks along Princes Street developing with distinct characteristics. It is thought it will be several years before work begins.
Talks are also taking place with hotel operators for a number of sites elsewhere on the street, including the space above BHS at 64-68 Princes Street and above the Burger King restaurant at the east end of Princes Street.
It has emerged council chiefs are also in talks with clothing giant Primark about creating a new walkway through its newly planned store at 91-93 Princes Street to Rose Street and the rear of the soon-to-be refurbished Assembly Rooms. It is hoped the new Primark and walkway will be in place by early next year.
Dave Anderson, the council's director of city development, today said there had been a great deal of interest in investing in the Capital. Speaking from an international tourism conference in London, he said: "Despite the tough economic conditions, we are finding that people are attracted to the quality proposition that we have in Edinburgh. We are seeing steady progress with String of Pearls."
City leaders have also revealed plans for a new car park on Calton Road with around 40 spaces.
Other developments for Princes Street currently in the planning process include plans to add an extra storey to the B-listed Old Waverley Hotel on Princes Street, while a revised planning application for a 103-bedroom hotel at 121-123 Princes Street – originally slated for plans to encase it almost entirely in glass – should also be decided in the next few months.
Plans to reintroduce a number of flats in the upper floors of Princes Street are also on the cards.
The council's view is that the only way to regenerate Princes Street is on a block-by-block basis, rather than individual buildings.
An updated development blueprint released in November last year showed plans for public courtyards at the back of key buildings on Princes Street, such as Boots and Marks & Spencer.
They would complement proposals to introduce traditional shopping arcades along newly created breakthroughs between Princes Street and Rose Street, as well as a big revamp of the lanes around Rose Street.
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