Will Wick's former dole office have a new role?
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE former government buildings in Wick's Girnigoe Street go up for auction on Wednesday in Glasgow.
Comprising more than 27,000 square feet of space at a rateable value of £115,000, the building once contained social security services as well as a tax office. At one time, the building housed about 100 tax, social security and job centre employees.
It was also a temporary home for Highland Council when it decanted from Market Square in 2013 in preparation for moving to its present base at Caithness House.
Shaun Vigers, a director of SVA Property Auctions, which is selling the complex, believes there is great potential for redevelopment of the site.
"There's a possibility it could be of interest to Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd. In fact, I'd have to say that the possibilities for the site are enormous and there are great opportunities for a developer to rethink that space."
Mr Vigers said that a "rethink" of the site could see it used as a business centre, for example.
A repositioning of the existing building into smaller suites could make it attractive to local businesses.
The auctioneer added that a mix of this repositioning in conjunction with "selective" demolition may be the "best and most imaginative approach" to reviving the site.
SVA details the property as comprising of a 1.65-acre site on which stand two separate office buildings of predominantly concrete construction under a mix of flat and shallow pitched roofs.
"There is car parking and an area of undeveloped ground. The site would lend itself to redevelopment as a hotel or for residential development," it adds.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone had opposed the sale of the building. He wanted to see it retained so "government jobs could be brought back to Wick".
The sale takes place at Glasgow's Trades Hall.
