TWO hotel operators are on the brink of a deal to move into the site of the old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary – as developers today said the scheme is continuing to take shape despite the recession.
A boutique operator has agreed a deal to buy and run a hotel within two B-listed buildings in the heart of the massive Quartermile development.
And an "aparthotel" firm is set to buy a new-build hotel on a site next door.
Developer Gladedale
Capital is remaining tight-lipped about the identity of the firms while it waits for the legal aspects of the deals to conclude but hopes they will be sealed within the next few months.
It is the latest boost to the ten-year vision to transform the former hospital site, due to be completed late in 2014.
A new public square has been finished this week and the hunt for pubs, restaurants and coffee shops has begun, with interest from local businesses said to be high.
The second new office building is to be officially launched next month and has already secured a major tenant, Morton Fraser, which will move in next week and occupy almost half of the building. A new 24-hour "no frills" gym is also to open later this month on the ground floor of the office.
And sales of flats, which range from £215,000-£1.35 million are said to have recovered well from a slowdown last year.
Lorraine Paterson, sales and marketing director at Gladedale, said: "Residential sales have been strong and we have exceeded our targets. Our sales this year are comparable to 2007, when the market was at its peak.
We have forecast that 66 units will be completed next year and we have already sold 27 per cent of them."
The original plans for the boutique hotel in the former Sidney Mitchell buildings would have featured 65 bedrooms and conferencing facilities.
However, the operator that is in the process of sealing a deal to buy the site is keen to include around 80 bedrooms at the expense of the conference facilities and some of the open space.
The two standalone buildings, which will be completely renovated and only maintain the existing outer shell, were to be linked by a glass corridor at ground level. But the operator is understood to be keen to link all floors with the glass corridor, which will require approval from planning officials.
Meanwhile, developers say they are confident of creating a new food and drink "hub' around the newly-completed public square on the site of the old Red House nursing home.
Martin Smith, Gladedale's planning director, said: "There are guys in Edinburgh who are renowned – Italian restaurateurs and traditional restaurateurs. Our job is to try to attract that type of high quality brand to Quartermile. It is a big public square and we want to bring that area to life."
