71-75, Robertson Street, City Centre

Tall 5-storey and attic, Glasgow style office building. Red sandstone ashlar. MAIN BLOCK TO ROBERTSON STREET: 5 bays channelled piers at ground with central Doric columned and open pedimented doorpiece with lions heads and fruit, keystoned 1st floor windows, galleried 4th floor with corbelled balcony and squat Doric columns; deep bracketted main cornice. Single bay to S flanked by pilaster strips, corbelled at 1st, 3-light windows, that in 4th with decorative head below gable. N angle corbelled to round for 2 storeys over ground, ship's prow under 1st floor central aedicule. Swags link cherubic head corbels turning drum to semi-octagon (3rd to 5th) with angle strips and Jacobean frieze above 4th floor. Very deep eaves encircling stack at S, ogee roof with apex finial. ROBERTSON LANE: 1 gabled ashlar bay, remainder brick with simplified details including NW angle details, segmental headed, keyblocked windows in pairs. 6 unequal bays on rear (W) elevation. Semi-enclosed courtyard to rear with glazed brick elevations, shallow canted bays with metal framed casement windows.

Built for Robert Buchanan & Co, Carting Contractors. (Historic Scotland)

November 2010: External inspection finds the building is almost entirely disused (No 75 ground floor is in use once a week) and appears to have been so for some time. Outwardly, it appears to be in good condition.

7 November 2013: A site visit finds there to be no significant change in the condition of this building since the last visit. There appears to be one business operating from a ground floor unit, with the building appearing otherwise empty. Listed Building Consent for temporary installation of restraint ties and floor support structures with associated enabling works comprising openings to ceilings and floors was conditionally granted Dec 2008 ref: 08/02062/DC, no re-use proposal is noted within the documents.

28 November 2019: A member of the public notes the building remains in much the same condition as seen previously. Upper floors remain disused.

29 July 2022: The property is being marketed for sale, offers invited, through JE Shepherd Commercial. The marketing particulars note the property is now fully disused.

13 January 2023: Closing date for offers to purchase the building has now passed (22/12/2022)

28 June 2023: External inspection finds the condition of the building has deteriorated. There are issues with decay and damp of the eaves on the east elevation. Salt deposits have built up on the masonry and damage to the interior is visible through the windows. The masonry around the entry at #73 is very damp, showing signs of delamination and there appear to be some gaps between stones. There is mature vegetation growth on the elevations facing the courtyard on the south side. The rainwater goods appear to be intact but there are signs of leaking. Although the windows of the building facing onto Robertson Street are in fair condition, the windows on the sections facing onto Robertson Lane and to the west of the courtyard are partially covered with timber sheeting and in poorer condition. The area to the rear of the building is subject to vandalism and flytipping. There is unmaintained vegetation growth in the adjacent vacant land to the south. Condition moved to Poor and Risk moved to Moderate.