WORK will now steam ahead to redevelop the former Odeon cinema site after a buyer has been found.
London-based fund Aberdeen Asset has bought the site in Angel Row and plans to turn it into shops and student flats.
A 15-storey block will take the place of the iconic cinema – which has been derelict since January 2001 and was knocked down in recent months – after plans for a redevelopment of the site were approved by Nottingham City Council in June 2011.
The flats which will replace the cinema are expected to be completed by September 2014 and will comprise of 14 floors and a basement.
The block will house 449 beds made up of 96 clusters of flats and 45 studio flats.
A spokesperson for Nottingham-based Mortar Developments, which is leading the scheme, said: "We are pleased a purchaser is on board now and are looking forward to the completion of the development.
"The vision is for a 449-bed accommodation block with three shop units on the ground floor.
"On Angel Row, next to McDonalds, there will be a 5,000 sq ft unit. In Bromley Place there will be a 3,500 sq ft unit and then the 2,500 sq ft corner unit of Bromley Place and Maid Marian Way will become an extension to Chino Latino, the Park Plaza's Pan-Asian restaurant and Latin cocktail bar.
"The two vacant units will be marketed next month and the idea is to have retailers in them ready to go before we finish the entire unit."
Opposition to the scheme has come from Bromley House Library in Angel Row, which said the 15-storey building would overshadow its garden.
Chairman of the Nottingham Civic Society Hilary Silvester said the group had concerns over the height of the proposed new building but were happy the site would no longer be derelict.
She said: "We do think that 15 storeys is too high and would impact on the library.
"However, we are pleased the old cinema is no longer standing derelict, as that did raise concerns.
"The Odeon was one of the poshest cinemas around for a long time, so it would be a good idea to put a plaque up in the student accommodation recognising the history of the building which once stood there."
Aberdeen Asset have bought the site on a forward planning basis – which means they own the site, and will pay on a monthly basis for the construction of the building which will replace the cinema.