IT was once home to a brutalist eyesore, one of the most unloved buildings in Scotland which squatted at the heart of a world heritage site, its architecture ill at ease with the surrounding grandeur.

Few have mourned the demise of the St James Centre in Edinburgh a year after it was reduced to rubble and work on a £1bn redevelopment began in earnest.

Now steel girders and concrete columns tower high over the site while while vast subterranean spaces have been carved into the bedrock below as the new Edinburgh St James development reaches skyward at the half-way stage.

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A £1bn project many years in the making, the 1.7 million sq ft site is one of the largest and most significant regeneration schemes currently underway anywhere in the UK.

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Edinburgh St James' centerpiece is the 'ribbon W Hotel. All pictures by Stewart Attwood.

With as target date of October next year set for its grand opening, the site swarms with activity by day as hundreds of workers toil away at the vast series of tasks it will take to bring the work to a close.

Slowly and surely, the jumble of steel beams, iron cables and concrete panels are slowly being shaped into a cohesive whole which will one day be visible from across the city and beyond.

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Based around a sweeping crescent of buildings surrounding a signature 12-storey hotel at its centre, the five-level Edinburgh St James will hold more than 850,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, including 85 new shops, more than 30 new restaurants, the city’s first Everyman Cinema and 152 apartments.

With Arthur's Seat looming in the background, Edinburgh Castle a stone's throw away and views out to Leith and the Firth of Forth, the site will rise up in the heart of Scotland's capital.

It will also boast three public squares, with the local authority making access for everyone one of their main demands before the development could go ahead.

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Surrounded by wooden hoardings, the site is mostly hidden from public view.  But behind the barriers, work on one end of the crescent is almost complete even as digging continues at the other to prepare the ground for the next phase.

The numbers behind the development are huge - more than 31,000 tonnes of debris from the demolition phase has been recycled back into the new buildings which have begun to take shape.

Led by the project’s main contractor, Laing O’Rourke, the construction process will see 200,000 tonnes of reinforced concrete used to raise its blocks and towers, while, almost 3,000 people have been involved in the construction so far - one in four of them living within a 100 mile radius.

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More than 40 apprentices have been taken on, young school leavers who are learning a trade at one of the busiest buildings sites in Europe. And almost £112 million has been invested in locally-sourced construction materials and the Scottish workforce.

Once completed, it is hoped that more than 3,000 permanent full-time jobs will be created for the people of Edinburgh, in a variety of sectors.

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In a smart office overlooking the site, Martin Perry,  Edinburgh St James Director of Development, has a front-row seat as work unfolds below. 

He is keen to stress the community aspect of the project, explaining how the people of Edinburgh will gain from the development with new festival venues and access to world-class shopping an a hotel with views to rival anywhere in the world.

He explained that the chief investment has come from pensions funds, who are looking for a long-term, ongoing return - rather than property developers who are backing the scheme for a quick profit.

Mr Martin said: “It’s extremely exciting to see the significant progress made since starting on site over two years ago.

"As the steel structure continues to reach new heights, it’s encouraging to see the positive impact the development is having on the local economy and community.

"The team has put in a huge amount of work to minimise the impact on the environment through its extensive recycling initiatives."

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Edinburgh St James Director of Development Martin Perry

He compared the centrepiece "ribbon" hotel - whose swirling design has proven controversial to some - to a coquettish Victorian lady which will be seen in glimpses from many angles in the city, and predicts it will become a major landmark for residents in the years to come.

The  W hotel, as it is officially known, is only the second built by the New York-based company in the UK, and is being marketed at chic 'world travellers' who are just as likely to be found in its bars and restaurants as in their rooms.

Clad in strip of reflective panels which shift colour as the light hits them, the towering structure will eschew the traditional tartan carpets and stuffed stags heads look favoured by the more staid Scottish hotels, in favour of  a "warrior women and kelpies" aesthetic.

And despite some debate about its controversial design, only 16 objections were made to Edinburgh City Council. 

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Mr Martin said: "People will soon be able to see this major new city landmark come to life. Our delivery programme has ensured that we continue to progress on time and on budget, and we look forward to making further announcements about progress ahead of the opening in 2020.”