One of Edinburgh's iconic, neo-classical landmarks, the former Royal High School, is to be redeveloped into a £35 million Arts Hotel, after lying vacant for 40 years.
The imposing building at the foot of Calton Hill, with the Greek Doric style that typifies Edinburgh's Athens of the North image, was mooted as a possible base for the Scottish Parliament prior to the building of Holyrood.
Under the new plan it will re-open with restaurant, cafe and public gallery space where long stay art pieces and temporary exhibitions can be viewed by the public.
Assuming there is no challenge to the decision, the successful bidders, Duddingston House Properties, will work in conjunction with Gareth Hoskins Architects and Castle Hotel Management Company on the £35 million capital project to bring the A-listed building back into public use for the first time since 1968.
Having occupied the south face of the Calton Hill since 1829, the Royal High School relocated to larger modern premises at Barnton.
"This is a hugely exciting development for one of Edinburgh's, and Scotland's, best loved landmarks," said Cllr Jenny Dawe, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council.
"Arts Hotels have proved themselves to be extremely popular in major cities around the world and this development will bring much needed additional hotel capacity to the city, while complementing Edinburgh's unique cultural offering."
The development forms part of the City's String of Pearls project, which aims to bring new life to the city centre. The Council will retain ownership of the Royal High School building and will lease it out.
Selection proceedure
The selection procedure, conducted under the European Union competitive dialogue process began in June 2009, prompting initial interest from 53 companies, which were subsequently reduced to six, four and finally two. Whilst the Council is minded to award selected bidder status to Duddingston House Properties, they will now enter a 10 day period to allow all bidders the opportunity to request further details on the selection process if they wish. The next stage of process will involve the Council working closely with the selected partner to refine the design and commercial aspects of the accepted bid.