Aberdeen could benefit from a major revamp after council officials revealed that 13 bids have been submitted for the re-development of St Nicholas House.
The 14-storey former council headquarters was erected in 1968, and stands as a legacy to the concrete carbuncles which proliferated during that period.
But, with more than 1000 staff having vacated the old building for the newly-refurbished Marischal College, the local authority believes there is an opportunity to regenerate the heart of Aberdeen.
All 13 proposals, which include a range of hotel, office and retail plans, include the partial pedestrianisation of Broad Street and feature a continental-style civic square, which would stretch between Marischal College and the historic Provost Skene's House.
Council leader Barney Crockett believes this is an outstanding opportunity for the city to be transformed and the struggling city centre environs to be given a face-lift.
He said: "We have to look at the best way to make use of the space between Provost Skene's House and Marischal College.
"The civic square concept will certainly be there [in whatever of the 13 bids gets the green light], and pedestrianisation could be done by changing the traffic lanes."
The former premises at St Nicholas House have a floor space of 16,200 square metres. But Aberdeen city council have confirmed that some of the proposed bids feature designs of more than three times that size, adding up to around 60,000 square metres.
It is understood that a final decision will not be made until the various ideas have been discussed by the council's finance and resources committee, later this year.
But, according to Crockett, the emphasis should be on improving the area and renovating an important part of central Aberdeen with an elegant design, which reflects the city's traditional granite heritage.
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