en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dundee City Council has received a planning application to convert the Keiller Centre, a city centre shopping site, into a student accommodation block, submitted by Dundee 1881 Limited.

The proposal to redevelop the shopping complex was first disclosed in December 2024, when Dundee 1881 Limited, the owner who purchased the building for £750,000 in April 2024, stated that the complex had "failed both financially and structurally" and planned to transform it into an area called "Keiller Quarter," combining commercial space with student accommodation.

The developer held two public consultations earlier in 2025 and had planned to submit a full planning application in the spring of that year, but the application was delayed, and the Keiller Centre closed in December 2025.

In a supporting statement, the developer stated that the Keiller Centre would be demolished to build a six-storey student accommodation block with 318 bedrooms and two commercial units. The developer claimed that demolishing the Keiller Centre and replacing it with student accommodation would help enhance the "vitality and viability" of city centre retail services.

The shopping centre was built in 1979 on the site of the former Keiller confectionery factory, which closed in 1971. The shopping arcade closed in 2025 after a period of sustained decline. The centre was sold for £3.75 million in January 2004, then changed hands again for £5.1 million in December 2005, before being purchased by Dundee 1881 Limited for £750,000 in April 2024.

The new student accommodation will help provide tourist accommodation in the city centre during the summer months, supporting the broader city centre economy and tourist attractions. This news comes from The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee).