What is Aberdeen City Council doing with its OWN empty Union Street units?

Tens of millions of pounds are being ploughed into a modern market aimed at luring people into Aberdeen city centre. The council purchased the old BHS building and three others surrounding it in their bid to bring the major regeneration project to life. Work is now progressing on the new indoor food and drink market, linking Union Street with The Green.

But the empty council-owned units alongside it appear to be left in limbo...

So which buildings on Union Street does Aberdeen City Council own? Contrary to what many might think, the local authority actually owns only four buildings on the Granite Mile (if you include the skeleton of the old BHS). That’s out of nearly 40 high street properties that currently have vacant units on eye level – some of which are already on the verge of being brought back into use. The buildings that the council is in charge of are located on both sides of the new food and drink market on Union Street, which is under construction at the moment.

City chiefs bought the premises on 81-85, 87-89, 91-93 and 101-103 Union Street a few years ago when they took over the old department store and Aberdeen Market. An outlier, the 95-99 Union Street home of HSBC is owned by Crystal Beauty Holdings Ltd. The authority had plans to turn upper floors into a mix of modern apartments, offices and cafes in a bid to set an example for other building owners in the city centre.

How that turned out is another matter, however. The largely vacant 101-103 Union Street s.