An acclaimed Edinburgh language school has applied to turn their building into a collection of short term holiday lets.
The Kaplan International English school, in Albyn Place, has placed an application with Edinburgh City Council to convert their building into 20 short term commercial lets.
However, Edinburgh Live understands that should the development go ahead, the language school would not be forced to close and would instead move to another location.
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The nearly 700-square metre proposal would involve an extension out the back of the building to accommodate the new flats.
The proposed extensions would involve building new structures at the back of the building to turn into new flats as well as installing a back court car park.
The proposal would call for a complete redesign of the entire building. With the basement getting the additions of both front and rear gardens, as well as a number of basement level flats.
The 20 flats would be a combination of studio and one bedroom apartments, spread across the five floors of the building.
While the proposed development would involve the construction of an extension, that would result from the demolition of a previous, non-original extension of the building which is currently in poor repair.
The properties original features would not be altered by the construction of the flats, with the exception of new roof lights on the third floor of the building.
However, the construction will not soon be underway. The proposed development is only in the planning stage and still needs to be approved by Edinburgh City Council.
It is currently awaiting assessment by the council to determine whether or not it will go ahead.
In their planning statement, real estate advisors JLL said: “The property is located within the city centre and is in a mixed-use area and therefore lends itself well to the proposed use and would ensure a safe, high quality experience for visitors, while protecting the interests of the local community and supporting the wider economic and tourism interests.”
