Posted on November 2, 2011 by Rob Powell
DEVELOPERS have put forward plans for a new 55-storey skyscraper in Croydon.
1 Landsdowne Road would include 16,756 m2 of office space, alongside almost 400 residential apartments and a four-star hotel with over 200 rooms.
The mixed use development is being proposed by Guildhouse-Rosepride and CZWG are the architects.
It would sit on an L-shaped plot at the corner of Wellesley Road and Landsdown Road, replacing three existing buildings: the YMCA, the Fairfield Hotel and Marco Polo House .
The development “resembles the earliest of New York skyscrapers which often mixed office, leisure, sports, residential and hotel in one construction,” according to planning documents.
Croydon, which is currently bidding for city status, adopted a Unitary Development Plan in 2006 which encourages high buildings in the town’s Metropolitan Centre:
“High buildings should be seen as an opportunity to create high quality, distinctive landmark structures that enhance Croydon’s skyline whilst having regard for their context at street level”
A similar size skyscraper in Croydon – set to be the UK’s tallest residential building – was recently approved.
The planning application for 1 Landsdowne has been submitted to Croydon council and a decision is set to be made early next year.
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Posted in London |
Tagged Croydon, Planning, Skyscrapers, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on October 31, 2011 by Rob Powell
AN ICONIC new office building has been given planning consent by councillors in Hounslow.
The 50 metre tall development will be built on a derelict site at Chiswick Roundabout, next to the M4. It has already been dubbed the “Octopus” and will offer 5,000m2 of office space.
The building will be covered in an LED shroud, offering illuminated advertising and “artistic” space.
Council officers had recommended that the scheme be turned down, citing concerns about the effect of the LED screen. They said it would “undermine the credibility of the building as an iconic development”, while having a “jarring impact” on a nearby cemetery.
But councillors on the Sustainable Development Committee decided to back the development, which is proposed by developer London & Bath Estates and is expected to create over 300 jobs.
According to the Hounslow Chronicle, Councillor Steve Curran, vice chairman of the committee, said: “Members felt it was an iconic building. There were more than 500 letters of support, Brentford Chamber of Commerce wanted it and we felt it woyld bring jobs and regeneration to the area.”
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Posted in London |
Tagged Planning |
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Posted on October 28, 2011 by John Cronin
Regeneration specialists Muse Developments has been chosen as the key developer for a £200m scheme in Basingstoke.
Muse is to work in partnership with Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council to redevelop the 65-acre Basing View business park.
Basing View was developed during the 70’s and 80’s as the town’s main commercial district. The council has decided that the park is in need of redevelopment to safeguard the long-term future of the site.
The masterplan (artists impression above) proposes a range of distinct commercial areas, predominately offering commercial office space along with leisure, retail and public spaces. A new ‘Urban Office Quarter’ will offer high quality office buildings of four to six stories to complement the existing office buildings. A new ‘Business Village’ will offer a range of smaller, serviced offices that will be made available on flexible terms.
Planning permission was secured in July 2009 and consent was also given for a new hotel within Basing View. Phase one demolition of two derelict 1970’s, ten-storey office blocks was delayed due to the original demolition firm going into administration.
Muse will construct the new hotel as well as new office buildings on five separate sites within Basing View that will offer in excess of 700,000 sq ft of floor space. It is estimated that the project has the potential to take the number of staff working within the park from 5,000 to 10,000.
Commenting on the scheme, Councillor Ranil Jayawardena, Council Cabinet Member for Finance and Property said: “We are very pleased to be working with Muse Developments to drive forward our vision for a modern, regionally recognised, business destination – delivering real economic growth for Basingstoke and North Hampshire.”
Construction work is expected to start in 2012.
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Posted in Hampshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Demolitions, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on October 26, 2011 by John Cronin
The latest letting at the Alba Centre, Livingston has seen the occupancy rate at the office complex pass 90%.
Miller Developments has announced that it has secured a five-year lease on 6,300 sq ft of office space with web-filtering company Bloxx.
The firm has taken an office suite on the second floor of the Alba Centre (pictured), one of the multi-let office buildings within Alba Business Park.
The letting to Bloxx takes the speculative scheme to within 10% of full occupancy. Other recent tenants include Athena Smartcard. Existing tenant WCEC Architects has taken up additional floor space due to expansion. Earlier this year, media heavyweight BSkyB agreed to take space in the Watermark building, one of the larger multi-let schemes within the park. Rental prices have not been disclosed.
Alba Business Park, located approximately 15miles outside of Edinburgh at Livingston, comprises of ten multi-let office buildings within a 95-acre woodland setting. A range of office accommodation is available to let, with suites at the Alba Pavilions buildings starting at 1,700 sq ft. Last month the scheme was selected as the winner of the 2011 BCO Awards “Best Project up to 2,000 sq.m.” The building is BREEAM rated ‘Very Good’.
Commenting on the latest lettings Pamela Grant, Development Director, Miller Developments, said: “The new lettings at Alba Centre take the building to over 90% occupied which is very refreshing considering the current market conditions. Alba has a very impressive tenant line up including big named occupiers such as Sky and Elonics, highlighting its reputation as a central Scotland business park.”
Joint marketing agents are GVA and Jones Lang LaSalle.
Posted in West Lothian |
Tagged Awards, Business Parks, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on October 24, 2011 by John Cronin
Developer UK & European has secured Tate & Lyle as the first occupier of floor space at its One Kingsway scheme.
UK & European has secured its first office tenant at the One Kingsway building (pictured – website). The only other current occupier in the building is the Delaunay Restaurant, based on the ground and basement levels.
Tate & Lyle has signed for the top two floors at the London, Midtown located building. Agreeing to a 15-year lease, the firm has taken 24,780 sq ft at a rental price of £67.50 / sq ft.
Occupying a prominent corner of Aldwych and Kingsway WC2, the existing 1920’s building has been completely rebuilt with only the original facade being retained. Just over 79,000 sq ft of the 105,000 sq ft of office floor space remains available over floors 1 – 6. Floor plates range from 11,050 sq ft to 13,742 sq ft. The mixed-use scheme of retail, office space and residential units has achieved a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.
Letting agents Farebrother believes that investments in Midtown office developments are set to exceed pre-recession levels. Reporting that annual investment to date in Midtown is nearly £2bn, Julian Hind, Head of Leasing, Sales & Development comments (pdf link): “We have upped our end-of-year projection for total office take-up to circa 2.4m sq ft. Total, named demand for new and secondhand space remains strong at 4.7m sq ft, up by 300,000 sq ft on Q2.”
Earlier in the year, Capita Symonds published a report indicating that Midtown rents had risen by 18% over Q1, 2011.
Joint commercial marketing agents are Jones Lang LaSalle and Farebrother.
Posted in London |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments, Transactions |
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Posted on October 21, 2011 by John Cronin
Supermarket giant Asda has officially opened a second office base in Leeds, the home city of the company.
On Wednesday Asda CEO Andy Clarke presided over an official opening event of new company offices at The Mint building at Holbeck Urban Village, Leeds.
Asda, which has been based in Leeds since the 1980’s, has relocated approximately 350 staff into the new offices. Asda agreed to lease 38,000 sq ft of floor space over two floors at The Mint back in April and has since overseen a fit-out programme.
The Mint (pictured above) is an eight-storey, £17m BREEAM ‘Excellent’ office building offering total floor space of 117,500 sq ft. Asda has taken the first two upper floors along with some floor space on the ground floor. Floor plates within The Mint range in size from 9,150 sq ft to 16,150 sq ft. Developers Deltalord completed the speculative scheme in 2009 and 79,500 sq ft of space remains unoccupied.
Holbeck Urban Village is a mixed-use, regeneration scheme and is a joint venture between Leeds City Council and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward. The commercial space is being targeted at the creative, digital and new media sectors. Flexible office space is available across a range of new and existing buildings, several of which are Grade II Listed.
Commenting on the new Asda offices, Colin Hayes of Deltalord said:”The considered fit-out by Asda’s design team has fully realised the architects vision of a light-filled, high-tech modern office space. [The Mint] is now enlivened by Asda’s investment in the area.”
Rental prices have not been disclosed. Joint marketing agents are AWS Ltd and Savills.
Posted in West Yorkshire |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on October 19, 2011 by John Cronin
Plans to demolish a well-known office building in Sheffield have received objections from locals who believe it should be renovated.
Hambleton House, (pictured) is the former headquarter offices the Sheffield-based South Yorkshire Transport Passenger Executive (SYPTE).
The offices have remained unoccupied since SYPTE relocating to new premises within the city six years ago. The property arm of SYPTE now wants to demolish the building as it believes the property is beyond repair.
Due to objections to the proposed demolition, SYPTE has now been forced to obtain full planning permission for the demolition. Campaigners hope that this will delay proceedings and create an opportunity to save the building. Local resident Neil Keally told the The Star: “A city centre building of this stature, history and architectural interest should absolutely not be allowed to be simply demolished.”
The site actually consists of two separate buildings, Hambleton House and a smaller adjoining property known as Castlegate Buildings. Located on Exchange Street, Hambleton House is a 26,000 sq ft, seven-storey office block dating back to the mid 1920’s. It is believed to have been constructed by the retailing family WH Smith. Castlegate Buildings offers 13,200 sq ft of floor space over two floors, half of which is suitable as office accommodation.
The buildings are in close proximity to The Square office development that is being developed by Carillion. The development consists of a Travelodge, a car park and office buildings ranging in size from 30,000 sq ft to 100,000 sq ft. SYPTE now occupies one of the phase-one office blocks.
It is still not certain if SYPTE will press ahead with the demolition. Commenting on the proposals, John Haddon, spokesperson said: “Other possible options are to refurbish the building and/or work with the council to maintain the building in some format.”
Posted in South Yorkshire |
Tagged Demolitions |
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Posted on October 18, 2011 by Rob Powell
Designers have floated proposals for a new office development in London’s Old Street.
Startup City would be an new addition to what’s become known as Silicon Roundabout, offering configurable office space to tech startups with a new enclosed public space on the ground floor.
Dubbed a “city-within-a-city” by designers, the building’s façade would be a programmable digital exterior offering advertising opportunities by the pixel and by the minute.
The concept is the result of a partnership between Space Station and 00:/ (‘zero zero’).
Space Station director Russell Chopp commented:
“The roundabout is a landmark opportunity to articulate and amplify what is happening in the area.”
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Posted in London |
Tagged Speculative Developments |
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Posted on October 17, 2011 by John Cronin
Construction company Carillion has been awarded a contract to build a significant new office development in the centre of Manchester.
Beating off competition from the likes of BAM Construction and Kier Group, Carillion has been chosen to build a speculative £60m office scheme at One St Peter’s Square in the city centre.
A 14-storey, 273,000 sq ft landmark building (pictured) is to replace the existing Elizabeth House office block. The ambitious scheme is a joint venture between developers Argent and Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund.
One St Peter’s Square is expected to be attractive to large, blue-chip tenants. A pre-let agreement with KPMG has already been secured for approximately 63,000 sq ft of floor space. KPMG have agreed to a 15-year lease and are taking the top three floors which offer floor plates of over 20,000 sq ft. KPMG are to relocate 700 staff from their current base at St James’ House on John Dalton Street. Rental prices have not been disclosed.
Designed by architects Glenn Howells, the building will offer mixed-use space at ground floor level including public exhibition areas, with 13 floors of office space above. The scheme is expected to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.
Commenting on the development, James Heather of Argent said: “Whilst we are delighted to have a 63,000 sq ft pre-let to KPMG, we still have almost 210,000 sq ft of Grade A office space available. As one of the only developers currently speculatively building commercial property outside of London it further reinforces our commitment to the scheme”.
Demolition of the existing building is being undertaken by Manchester-based Connell Brothers and construction is scheduled to start in April, 2012.
Posted in Manchester |
Tagged Demolitions, Speculative Developments, Transactions |
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Posted on October 14, 2011 by John Cronin
Empty office space at the headquarters of Scottish Natural Heritage is to be made available to commercial tenants.
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is to make available vacant floorspace within its award-winning headquarters building on a commercial basis for the first time.
SNH already sublets suites within Great Glen House, Inverness (pictured) to the Crofters Commission and Paths for All Partnership, both of which are public bodies.
Great Glen House is a three-storey office building that was completed in 2006 at a build cost of approximately £12m. Constructed on the same basis as for commercial office projects, the build was undertaken on a pre-let agreement at a rental price of £15 / sq ft. SNH subsequently exercised an option to purchase the scheme.
The 65,000 sq ft building comprises of flexible, open-plan office space along with meeting rooms, a library, workshops and fully-equipped gym. Incorporating a wide range of energy-efficient and sustainable construction techniques, Great Glen House is one of the UK’s highest accredited environmental buildings. A BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating has been awarded and on completion the scheme achieved the highest ever office BREEAM score of 84.01%. In 2007 the building was voted the best corporate workplace in Scotland at the BCO Awards.
Commenting on the surplus office space Joe Moore, corporate services director at SNH said: “[We are] continuously looking at ways of making the property more environmentally, operationally and financially efficient”.
Agents Knight Frank are marketing the second floor suite, extending to 4,898 sq ft, at a headline rental price of £25 / sq ft. Floor space is available for immediate occupation. Serviced office facilities are also available.
Posted in Inverness |
Tagged Awards, Public Sector, Rental Prices, Serviced Offices |
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