Construction company Morgan Sindall has been awarded a £14.8m contract to build new civic offices for a West Yorkshire council.

It has been announced that a deal has been agreed between Morgan Sindall and English Cities Fund (ECF) for a 5 storey office building to be used as new civic offices for Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. ECF is a joint venture partnership which comprises urban regeneration company Muse Developments, Legal & General, and the Homes & Communities Agency.

The new office is to be built in Burton Street, Wakefield and will offer 123,000 sq ft of floor space. The office building is the second phase of the mixed-use, multi-million pound Merchant Gate development that covers an area of some 17 acres in total.

Other recently developed offices in this quarter of Wakefield include 1 & 2 Burgage Square and Emerald House (pictured). Number 1 Burgage Square offers 17,300 sq ft of Grade A floor space over three floors. Number 2 Burgage Square offers 19,600 sq ft of Grade A floor space, also over three floors. Nearby Emerald House has office floor space amounting to 10,000 sq ft on the first and second floors. Commercial agents King Sturge are quoting rental prices of £16.50 / sq ft for the phase 1 offices.

This first phase was opened this September and at the opening event Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of ECF, said: “Whilst many other developments across the UK have been on hold due to the current economic climate, ECF partners have pressed on with the Merchant Gate scheme which now provides contemporary apartments, Grade A office space, restaurants and retail for the people of Wakefield.”

The second phase office scheme includes open-plan floor plates with a central atrium, extensive glazing and external rainscreen cladding with terracotta tiles. Work on the concrete frame of the building is to start this month, following the completion of the piling and groundwork. Planning permission was granted in March, 2010.

Morgan Sindall is aiming to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ for the scheme by introducing a biomass woodchip boiler, and using local suppliers wherever possible, in addition to control and management of waste on site.

The project is due to be completed in December 2011.