Developers have outlined a £6 million plan to regenerate an area of Leicester's West End.
Braunstone Gate Developments is poised to complete the purchase of a disused Great Central Railway viaduct.
Leicester City Council owns the vandal-hit structure and has agreed to sell it to the firm – a partnership between developers Sowden Group and Jamie Lewis – for an undisclosed sum.
The viaduct is a remnant of the old Bow String Bridge, which was controversially demolished by the council in 2009 to make way for De Montfort University's new sports centre.
The developers intend to demolish the viaduct and build commercial premises with 40 private flats above. There would be 20 parking spaces.
Tim Shattock, the agent for the developers, said: "We hope the scheme will regenerate an area which is at the moment a bit of a wasteland and a viaduct that is a bit of an eyesore.
"The commercial element could be a bar or restaurant, a shop or offices or a surgery.
"The flats will not be student flats. That is part of the deal with the council. There will be a covenant."
He said there were garages trading in the railway arches in the viaduct, and "we will be having discussions with the tenants about relocating them".
Mr Shattock said if the purchase was completed promptly, a planning application could be submitted in June.
Should the scheme be approved by the council planning committee, work could start in October with the construction finishing 15 months later.
"We have shown the ideas to some of the residents and they seemed enthusiastic," said Mr Shattock. "Obviously, there was a lot of concern when the Bow String Bridge came down, but now it is gone, removing the viaduct will be nowhere near as controversial.
"It is a very complicated structure and expensive to maintain so, for us, the best thing to do would be to bring it down."
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby welcomed the proposal.
He said: "I am very pleased the council has been able to liaise with the developer to continue the valuable regeneration work which is helping transform the whole of the Bede Island area."
However, residents who were shown the artist's impression by the Leicester Mercury yesterday said they were not in favour of the development.
John Hamer, 74, of Bede Street, said he thought the proposed building was "ugly and far too imposing for the area".
"It will dominate the houses nearby, which includes mine," he said. "It looks like a modern monstrosity just shoved into a normal street."
Chris Rees, 41, of Bede Street, said: "The last thing we need here is yet another development like this.
"Apart from anything else it is not in keeping with the area as it is. The building looks awful and is far too high."
Neighbour Sarah Beedham, 31, said as a mother-of-four she would much prefer a community building to be sited there.
"It would be refreshing for someone to actually provide something to benefit the area," she said.
"The building will not improve the look of the area."
