The contract to demolish a former Moray health centre to make way for council housing has been put out to tender.
The 41-year-old surgery on Strathcona Road, Forres, will be levelled to make way for 12 one-bedroom flats with parking.
Moray Council confirmed the purchase of the building from NHS Grampian at the beginning of June.
The site was acquired with the help of Scottish Government funds, and, as part of the terms of sale, the local authority had to demolish the building within nine months.
Interested candidates have until July 31 to submit a tender.
Following this deadline, the demolition contract is expected to be awarded by August 17.
Forres councillor George Alexander said he was glad work was progressing on a project which has been in the pipeline since early 2014.
He said: “This has to be good news for Forres. I’m glad the contract is now up for tender, and I look forward to it being awarded. The sooner they get on with it the better because this has been ongoing for a year.”
With a planning application currently being drawn up, the local authority hopes to begin construction before the end of the year.
Chairman of the council’s communities committee, Eric McGillivray, said the development was the latest project in a region-wide commitment to construct 500 new homes over the next 10 years.
The former health centre in Forres was built in 1974, but by 2011 local doctors said it was no longer fit for purpose.
That year the Scottish Government launched plans to create a new surgery in the town, and in September 2014, the £5.5million Forres health centre opened its doors to patients.
Recent figures revealed that about 3,000 people in Moray were waiting for a council house, with an average of eight applicants for every home that becomes available.