A new community hub containing Swansea's central library and other council services is set to take shape at the city's former BHS building.
The authority's planning committee unanimously approved the Oxford Street project, which will feature translucent cladding, at a meeting on January 18.
Planning officers had recommended it for approval after considering, among other things, whether the loss of ground floor retail space would have a significant impact on the vitality of the area.
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An officer told the committee: "If anything it would in real terms attract people into the city centre."
He added that the detail for a scheme like this was "critical".
The council expects the hub, which will also incorporate the former Miss Selfridge building on the corner of Oxford Street and Princess Way, to house its contact centre and also the West Glamorgan Archive Service.
It could also accommodate housing options, the tenancy support unit, the revenue and benefits service, family history service, and employability, life-long learning and local studies.
The hub will feature a ground floor cafe, a grand central staircase, a "living" wall and further rooftop greenery.
Other organisations might also have a presence there.
Council leader Rob Stewart said the transformation of the block, which could open in its new guise next year, was "hugely exciting".
"This first group of customer-facing services illustrates how useful the hub will be to the public," he said.
"Many services will be easier to access in a more welcoming environment – and no services will be lost in the move."
The change of use project would, he added, increase city centre footfall and sustain jobs.
BHS traded there from the 1950s through to 2016. A What! store then moved in.
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