A Dundee landmark which has stood empty for decades has been sold to a property developer.
Custom House will be taken over by Alicydon Limited, which is based in the city and aims to restore the grade A listed building.
Apex Hotels dropped plans to turn the 1840s structure into a boutique hotel last year and said it had decided to sell the property to focus on its existing Dundee hotel, the Apex City Quay Hotel and Spa.
The former headquarters of the city’s Port Authority was put on the market last summer as a potential residential development.
Angela Vickers, chief executive officer of Apex Hotels, said: “The decision to put Custom House on the market was not taken lightly.
“However, having considered various options following a rigorous market assessment we concluded that due to the increasing number of hotels coupled with the level of investment in our existing Dundee property it would not be viable to bring further accommodation to the market via the development of Custom House.
“We are pleased to have found a buyer committed to the retention, development and restoration of one of the city’s most historic and much-loved buildings.
“We continue to focus on developing Apex City Quay Hotel and Spa, which has seen £3.4 million invested over the past two years, with a £2.4 million full bedroom refurbishment and, more recently, a £1 million programme of works to refurbish public areas, restaurant and spa.”
In December a member of Dundee Civic Trust suggested Custom House should be lifted up and turned around by 90 degrees to make it easier to bring it back into use.
In 1970 Lubomirski Palace, in Poland, was removed from its foundations and reorientated and Jerzy Rzepecki suggested a similar exercise to make Custom House stand at a right angle to its current position with its “currently useless front door facing the dock instead of being a yard away from the main road”.
