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Marischal Square

Marischal Square
Marischal Square from Marischal College, Aberdeen.jpg
General information
Status Under construction
Type Mixed Use (Office, hotel, retail and restaurant)
Address Broad Street, Aberdeen
Town or city Aberdeen
Country Scotland
Estimated completion 2017
Cost £50 Million
Client Muse Developments
Landlord Aberdeen City Council
Technical details
Floor count 10
Floor area 239,776 sq ft (22,276 m2)
Design and construction
Architecture firm Halliday Fraser Munro

Marischal Square is a mixed use development currently under construction in Broad Street, Aberdeen, Scotland. The development is located on the site of St. Nicholas House, Aberdeen City Council's former 14 storey headquarters building, which was expected to be demolished by Spring 2014, after staff were relocated to the redeveloped Marischal College on the opposite side of Broad Street in 2011.

The site comprises 0.981 hectares (2.42 acres) and is surrounded by Broad Street to the east, Upperkirkgate to the north and Flourmill Lane to the west.

The site would be developed in a single phased and completion is expected in 2017. It is estimated by the Council that the development would attract 3000 extra people into Aberdeen city centre daily.

There have been protests against the development. Several hundred demonstrators formed a human chain around the site in January 2015.

Aberdeen City Council voted to demolish St. Nicholas House and market the vacant site on the open market in October 2011. A two-stage selection process followed, and in August 2012 it was announced that thirteen offers had been received by the Council from interested developers. All bids were for mixed-use developments comprising hotel, office, retail and restaurant/café use and varied between 180,000sqft to 650,000sqft with parking for 150 to 600 vehicles. In October 2012 four bidders were short-listed to move onto stage two and present more detailed design proposals to the Council.

The short-listed designs were made public in April 2013 and Manchester based Muse Developments in a joint venture with Aviva Investors were selected as the preferred bidder on 1 May 2013. Muse's bid includes provision for the Council to lease the development from Muse for a period of 35 years and receive part of the rental income from the tenants for that period. The development would revert to Council ownership after the 35-year period. The decision by the Council to select the Muse proposal was controversial with voting by Councillors split 23-20. The ruling Labour, Conservative and Independent coalition voted in favour whilst the SNP and Liberal Democrats were opposed.

It is intended to commence the pre-application planning process by late summer 2013.

Public consultation events will take place at Aberdeen Art Gallery on October 30 and 31 and November 1st and 2nd 2013.

Marischal Square would comprise 175,000sqft of office space; 5,000sqft of restaurant space; and 18,638sq ft of retail and leisure space which would include a circa 150 bedroom hotel boutique hotel.


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