Work has started transforming one of the biggest blots on the Leicester landscape.
The former International Hotel building, on the edge of the city centre, has been empty for years.
Now construction crews have started work turning it into student flats with shops and leisure facilities on the ground floor.
The building, on the corner of Humberstone Road and Rutland Street, has been empty since 2009 and was boarded up in 2018 after Leicester City Council, backed by Leicestershire Police, secured a court order following complaints of drug abuse, rough sleeping, vandalism and other anti-social behaviour.
When the city council applied for a court order to board up and secure the building, city council solicitor Jonathan Manning told Leicester Magistrates the building had become a "haven for local criminals" and a no-go area for even police officers.
The building is owned by Land Invest Ltd is surrounded by scaffolding. Notices have now gone up announcing plans to convert it into a block of student flats.
The project is being led by student accommodation provider True Student Ltd, which has similar schemes in cities such as Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle and Salford.
A spokeswoman for parent company Bricks Capital said: "True Leicester will be one of the company’s biggest developments to date, bringing around 470 fantastic new student bedrooms, serving the city’s two universities.
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"True Student has already commenced work on the historic but derelict site, formerly the grand headquarters of shoe manufacturer, Freeman Hardy & Willis, and subject to significant damage during Second World War bombing raids before post-war reconstruction.
"Contractors RG Group have been appointed to the project, which is due for completion in time for the start of the 2021 academic year and, as is typical with all True Student sites, the all-inclusive accommodation will be fitted out to an exceptional specification - providing amenities such as the fabulous festival zone, private cinema and state-of-the-art gym, complete with personal training."
Ben Morley, managing director of True Student Ltd, believes the redevelopment will bring vibrancy to the area and provide "high-end" student accommodation for students from both De Montfort University and the University of Leicester.
He said: “We’re very excited to be bringing our award-winning offer to Leicester.
"Our new scheme is located in the heart of the city and will live up to the industry-leading standards we’ve established.”
He said the project will be "partnering closely with the local community and businesses" while providing an "unparalleled student experience".
"Each week, we offer a range of activities, such as photography workshops, power brunches, nutritional support, day trips, and team challenges,” he added.
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City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has welcomed the scheme.
He said: "It’s good news that this landmark building – which has stood empty and derelict for far too long – is set to be redeveloped and brought back into use.
“The site has been an eyesore for many years and its planned conversion into new student flats will make a valuable contribution to the ongoing regeneration of this important part of the city centre.”
Businessman Bestun Fiyik, owner of the Adana Turkish restaurant and Humberstone Supermarket, opposite the development, in Humberstone Road, is also enthusiastic about the development.
He said: "It will be a good thing for our business and the area as a whole. The place had become a terrible eyesore and a lot of people were using it to take drugs.
"That's why we would be very happy to welcome students to the area. It will mean more business for us, as well as brightening up the area.
"I was also told by the site manager that there could be a ten-pin bowling alley and cinema, which would be fantastic for bringing new people to this part of the city centre."
Aliya Haji, 36, who lives in the city centre, said: "I realise that leaving the building as it was is no good but I just think this was a chance to do something much more.
"It could have been a mix of offices, shops, businesses and other attractions which bring people into the city centre.
"So I think they have missed a big opportunity to do something different. Leicester already has more than adequate provision of student accommodation."
A £40 million scheme to replace the former hotel with 428 flats, including a 21-storey tower, was refused by city councillors back in 2017 after the planning committee heard some of the proposed homes would have been smaller than the cages required by law to house wombats.
The student living project that is now going ahead follows planning permission agreed several years earlier.