Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Conshy was much loved and utilised – but what comes now?
WHEN it opened in 1970, the Dundee College of Commerce building was a buzzing, vibrant space, bustling with students.
Fondly known as the “Conshy” because of its location on Constitution Road, it was an exciting place to be.
Fast forward half a century and it’s a sad, empty shell.
The college campus closed in 2011 and the Dundee landmark has become a target for vandals and urban explorers.
Most windows have been smashed, spray paint has been daubed inside and out, and breakins have been rife. Graffiti covers almost every wall, with one tag reading: “RIP Dundee College”.
It’s damp, depressing and ugly – a shadow of its former self.
It’s not an image the city, which earned a place on Lonely Planet’s 2018 must-visit hotlist, would wish to present to the world.
Last year plans to transform the iconic nine-storey building – described as a fine example of 1960s Brutalist architecture – into high-quality flats collapsed.
The ambitious £15 million project would have seen the property transformed into a multi-use block featuring 111 homes, 24 serviced flats, a cafe, cinema and a gym.
However, the plan was shelved because of a lack of funding and the site is now back up for sale.
The building’s future remains unclear but, as a prominent feature on the city’s skyline for so many years, it’s sad it projects nothing more than a grim spectre on the landscape in 2020.
There are many people who want to see new life injected into it, and there are those who have fond memories of life inside the Conshy.
The £1 million College of Commerce was officially opened in May 1970 by Princess Alexandra.
Bill Dower worked at Dundee College as a press officer for 19 years. He started in 1998 when the Conshy was one of six campus sites.
“You got a great view from the top floor,” recalls Bill, 62. “And during winter you could watch cars going down the road sideways. Staff all knew just how treacherous Constitution Road could be in icy conditions but ‘outsiders’ didn’t!”
Bill jokes the Conshy is the only building he’s been in where he could get claustrophobia and acrophobia - an extreme fear of heights – almost simultaneously.
“The lifts were dimly lit, hence the claustrophobia, and when you stepped out on the top floor, with one wall being all glass, that was when the acrophobia kicked in,” he said.
Recently retired Dundee College principal Grant Ritchie has strong bonds to the Conshy, having first forged links in 1978 as a student.
“I left school without Highers and worked for the city council for a couple of years,” he recalls.
“I decided to go back and do my
Highers again and enrolled in the college in 1978.”
Grant, 62, describes his time there as a “great experience”, with “really strong teachers and a really supportive atmosphere”.
On leaving college, he studied at Aberdeen University. Six years later, in 1985, he applied for a job in the college teaching communications to Youth Training Scheme (YTS) kids. He worked for the college “in all its various guises” until he retired on July 31 this year.
“The College of Commerce, as it was before the merger with Kingsway Technical College in 1988, was a great place to work,” says Grant. “The place had a real family feel and staff worked and socialised together.
“The building had two concrete blocks, the small block and the tower. The small block had the