Work got under way on the site of the former British Home Stores building in the city centre.
The site of the former department store is to be transformed into a leisure space, taking in the former Aberdeen Market building, to attract people of all ages into the city centre.
Hoarding is up around the site, and today the contractors were seen up a cherry picker working at the top of the building.
Plans to turn the once-thriving with shops and restaurants market into a new multi-million-pound leisure space were approved in November by Aberdeen councillors.
The future of the Aberdeen Market
Halliday Fraser Munro has been hired by Aberdeen City Council to develop the £75million project, describe it as a flexible market and leisure space with a “destination food and drink offering”.
It is hoped the redevelopment will bring people and businesses back to the central stretch of Union Street.
The inside will be transformed into a bright, open-aired market space attracting local businesses to the building and shoppers to back to the Granite Mile.
Councillor Ryan Houghton, Aberdeen City Council’s finance spokesman said: “The new market will be an asset to Union Street and a strong statement about the regeneration of our city centre.
“The £20million from the UK Government’s levelling up fund will help us deliver this project providing an exciting space for independent local shops to lead the economic recovery.”
When was the building demolished?
The former BHS store, opened in 1974, and is fondly remembered for its food hall, fundraising and festivities with “room to move and choose”.
The building was demolished in March, with one digger initially used to take down the circular wall and roof facing the Green.
A popular mural which covered the circular wall of the building was knocked down during the demolition.
