Business leader Bob Keiller has urged companies to seize the opportunity to be part of Aberdeen city centre’s renewal – warning that Union Street’s future depends on ambition matching that of its past.
Writing in today’s Press & Journal, the former Wood Group chief executive said the Granite Mile was “built on ambition” and now needs businesses to step up and write its next chapter.
Keiller - who now leads the Our Union Street volunteer group - said that the regeneration of the city centre is not just a cosmetic exercise but a “strategic necessity” for Aberdeen as it looks to reinvent itself as a hub for the energy transition. A modern, vibrant city centre, he argued, will be vital to attracting the investment and talent required for this transformation.
He highlighted recent successes as examples of what ambition can deliver. Aurora Aberdeen, the redevelopment of Caledonian House, and the decision by Adura – the new Shell-Equinor joint venture – to locate its headquarters in the Silver Fin building both show that Union Street can still compete with the best locations in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.
Keiller also praised the role of the public sector, pointing to Aberdeen City Council’s City Centre and Beach Masterplan, which is reshaping the city through projects including the revitalised beachfront and new cultural venues such as Flint. But he stressed that true confidence will be shown not in plans, but in businesses choosing to base themselves on Union Street.
“Every business that comes to Union Street brings with it staff, visitors and vitality,” Keiller wrote.
He added that financial incentives such as grants for empty shops and up to two years of rate-free periods make the move an attractive commercial proposition as well as a civic one.
Calling on business leaders to look again at Union Street when considering their property strategy, Mr Keiller said: “Union Street’s past was written by visionaries who believed Aberdeen deserved a stage worthy of its aspirations. Its future will be written by the ambitious businesses that choose to make it their home.”
Read his full piece here.