THE long-running saga of a historic Glasgow city centre landmark building could be about to come to an end.
The Egyptian Halls, in Union Street, is being considered for a Compulsory Purchase Order by the council.
The famous building, which has been hidden behind scaffolding for more than a decade, was the subject of a recent bid by an interested party but was rejected by the current owner.
Councillors are now to investigate whether to force the sale of the building and then transfer it to a new owner to carry out redevelopment and bring it back into meaningful use.
Designed by famous Glasgow architect, Alexander "Greek" Thomson, the Egyptian Halls had consent granted for repair schemes in the 2010s and permission for a hotel in 2012 but none were delivered.
The council believes a deteriorating building at such a prominent site has a significantly detrimental economic, social and environmental impact on the surrounding city centre.
The scaffolding, despite being erected for the past 15 years, is not there to allow repairs to be carried out and instead has carried advertising.
The owners were told in 2021 to remove the huge ad banner, estimated to bring in £70,000 a month in revenue for the owners.
Before it can promote a CPO, the council must determine if there are other interested parties as well as considering any proposals which the owners might bring forward at this stage.
The council has been increasingly frustrated at the lack of any viable plan by the current owners with no planning application submitted since 2012.
Concern over the structure of the building has grown to the extent that the council states: “Without intervention, there is an increased risk of significant failure in the fabric of the building.”
Two recent engineering reports state a continued decline in the overall building fabric through a prolonged lack of occupation and ongoing maintenance.
Next week the council’s Contracts and Property Committee will consider whether to investigate the use of Compulsory Purchase Order powers to acquire the property.
The ground and basement floors are owned by Union Street Properties Ltd.
The upper floors are entered from the close numbered 92 Union Street and are owned by Union Street Investments LTd both based in Dundee and owned by the same firm led by businessman Derek Soutar.
