Work underway to deliver 31 Dundee city centre apartments on the site of former fire-devastated shop

Work is well underway on 31 modern affordable apartments in Dundee, which are being constructed on the site of the former Xmas Shop, which was razed by fire in 2014.

The development, which is being constructed by George Martin Builders on behalf of Hillcrest Homes, will offer the properties for social rent, providing another boost to the city’s provision of affordable homes.

The site has already seen a new Tesco convenience store open on the ground floor, with the apartments set to occupy the four floors above it.

To ensure that the new building fit seamlessly into the period visual style of the surrounding architecture, the recently completed exterior has been carefully crafted using authentic materials and stonemasonry.

While the exterior has been constructed in the form of a historic building, the apartments themselves will have a range of modern energy efficiency measures built in, such as high-performance insulation and secondary glazing.

With an eye firmly on sustainability, the building will also include internal bicycle storage, which will be accessible from Seagate.

The apartments, all of which will be one-bed, are currently scheduled for a completion date of summer 2024.

The site has lain vacant since the ferocious fire, which required nine fire engines, a command unit and around 50 firefighters to tackle, gutted the Murraygate shop in December 2014.

Angela Linton, Hillcrest chief executive, said: “Hillcrest is committed to delivering affordable homes for those in housing need, and this boost of another 31 good quality homes, right in Dundee’s city centre, will be a very welcome addition to the city’s provision of social housing stock.

“In addition, with the cost of living crisis impacting many households, these properties will be developed with a range of measures intended to keep tenants’ bills as low as possible.”

David Maxwell, Managing Director at George Martin Builders, added: “Having extensive experience refurbishing and working with listed buildings and city centre developments, recreating such a building was a project we were delighted to undertake.

“Whether its specialist developments like this project, or traditional housing, our aim is to deliver comfortable properties, and we’re delighted to be working with Hillcrest to deliver city centre properties that tenants can make a home.”