Posted on September 21, 2010 by John Cronin
Commercial property developer MEPC has secured planning permission on two applications for office buildings in Leeds.
The plans for two additional buildings at Wellington Place were approved by Leeds City Council. A five storey office building next to the Grade II Listed Lifting Tower was described in a council report as creating:
“…A successful backdrop to the listed lifting tower and will visually contain the northern side of the main square at the centre of the Wellington Place development. It will be a high quality building and conforms to the objectives of the approved master plan.”
A six/seven storey office building with basement car park was also approved for the same site.
Managing director of Wellington Place Andrew Barlow welcomed the decision, noting the construction of the offices “demonstrates MEPC’s commitment to the expansion of the site”. However, Mr Barlow also stated MEPC is “taking a long-term approach to construction” and is therefore unlikely to carry out any speculative development.
Number Three Wellington Place will offer 110,000 sq ft of office space, while Number Ten is set to feature 35,000 sq ft.
Wellington Place is a seven hectare site in the west end commercial district of Leeds on the site of the former Central Station. When fully developed the site will provide in excess of 2.7m sq ft of both commercial and residential accommodation around a sequence of three major new public spaces which link the riverside with the city centre.
Number Two Wellington Place (pictured), is the existing seven storey, solar glazed building providing offices with Grade A floor-plates and is let to tenants including Sky, Irwin Mitchell and Regus, the serviced offices provider. 14,590 sq ft of floor space is available to let on the first floor.
7 Wellington Place has detailed planning consent and is available as a potential headquarters building on a design and build basis or for pre-rental by the floor. Potential exists to provide a building of up to 160,000 sq ft.
Wellington Central, is a building on the site constructed from recycled freight containers. Used as the marketing suite for the development the office is also available to tenants for rental for meetings and events.
Agents for Wellington Place are Jones Lang LaSalle and DTZ.
Posted in West Yorkshire |
Tagged Planning, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on September 20, 2010 by John Cronin
Commercial property developers are increasing the availability of premium grade floor space in Liverpool by renovating existing office buildings.
As highlighted by the just-released offices in the well-known India Buildings block in Water Street, developers are increasing the somewhat limited stock of Grade A office space in Liverpool by renovating old city centre buildings. The Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building, One Derby Square and 43 Castle Street are just some of the properties to have received extensive refurbishment over the last 12 months.
Developer Green Property Limited has opened up the myriad of narrow corridors and small, individual rooms within India Buildings to make available a range of flexible floorplates including whole floors within the listed building. Available office space ranges from 200 sq ft (18.5 sq m) to 35,000 sq ft (3,251 sq m) on a single floor with Grade A specification accommodation included. Rental prices are not currently quoted by joint agents CB Richard Ellis and Matthews Goodman.
Across The Strand at The Port of Liverpool building, developers Downing have commenced work on a new 8,330 sq ft office suite on the second floor of the Grade II listed building. Downing, Liverpool’s largest private commercial landlord is reporting healthy interest in the office space that will warrant a premium rental price. Downing has spent £15m in total on restoration works at The Port of Liverpool building, including restoring the iconic dome. The whole project is one of the UK’s largest privately-funded refurbishments of a listed building.
Paul Jolley, CB Richard Ellis associate director, said in a recent interview:
“A number of major owners, such as UK Land & Property, Downing and Green Property have upgraded their buildings.
“There used to be very little Grade A office space in the city, but this has markedly improved with the installation of modern specification of lighting and air conditioning.
“Of course, properties of India Buildings’ era are based on spinal corridors with small offices and now ways of working have changed.
“But, as more forward-thinking owners have shown, it’s not difficult to change that to keep up with the times.”
But not all Grade A office space in Liverpool is confined to the abundance of 2,500 listed buildings within the city, many being located in the business district. Developers English City Fund have just celebrated a topping out ceremony on the last phase of No 4 St Paul’s Square. The 109,000 sq ft new build, located in the business quarter of the city, is due for completion in May 2011, providing multi-let, Grade A rated office space. The scheme is one of the most significant speculative developments in Liverpool since the 2006 completion of 20 Chapel Street, a 150,000 sq ft new-build tower whose tenants include Liverpool Football Club, Barclays and Barclays Wealth, Bank of Ireland and Ernst & Young.
Posted in Merseyside |
Tagged Listed Buildings, Renovations, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on September 17, 2010 by John Cronin
A flagship Bristol office complex that was previously owned by failed property group Castlemore has come to market with a price tag of £82m.
The One Glass Wharf development affords some 215,000 sq ft of high grade office floor space, of which 81% is pre-let to law firm Burges Salmon. Approximately 42,000 sq ft on the ground to second floor is vacant and is being marketed at £27.50 per sq ft. The asking price of £82m would give an initial yield of 6.75%.
One Glass Wharf was left part-finished when Castlemore Securities collapsed in 2009. Castlemore reportedly had a £1billion property pipeline including 40 Holborn Viaduct, a 178,000 sq ft office block overlooking Holborn Circus, London.
One Glass Wharf is part of the Temple Quay area of Bristol, located only a short distance from the City Centre in what is reportedly “rapidly becoming known as the city’s business hub”. The area has seen a significant inward investment and has seen speculative office developments completed within the last two years.
Other recent developments in this new business quarter area of Bristol include The Paragon, a £35m speculative office development in nearby Victoria Street in the Redcliffe area of Bristol. Ernst & Young recently let 20,322 sq ft of office space over two floors at The Paragon on a 20-year lease at a rental price of £27.50 sq ft.
Alder King and King Sturge are advising on the sale of One Glass Wharf; Alder King and Lambert Smith Hampton are letting agents on the vacant space.
Posted in Bristol |
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Posted on September 17, 2010 by John Cronin
As phase one of MediaCityUK nears completion, Manchester commercial estate agents and developers are reporting increased demand for floor space in the region.
Muse Developments, a Manchester based developer and part of Morgan Sindall Group plc has completed two lettings at Anchorage Quay in Salford Quays, totalling 12,500 sq ft. Manchester based serviced offices company Bruntwood has welcomed three new customers to Furness House in Salford Quays, in deals totalling 3,750 sq ft. Meanwhile BNP Paribas Real Estate has acquired 5,140 sq ft for a client at Wrather Group’s Zenith building in Spring Gardens.
Wes Erlam, development surveyor at Muse Developments, said: “Whilst the market remains extremely challenging, we believe the advent of Media City UK – and the proximity of Anchorage to this fantastic new destination – will present real opportunities for us moving forward. We can offer highly competitive rents and a range of space in Anchorage One and Two. We look forward to capitalising on further opportunities in the future.”
In a sign that companies are expecting the Peel Group owned Media City UK development to generate new business, Manchester law firm Ralli has opened an office in the Digital World Centre in Salford Quays.
Kirsty Johnston, business centre manager for the centre said: “Ralli’s presence at the Digital World Centre represents an exciting development in the types of organisations that are becoming attracted to Salford Quays. This move will mean the firm is well placed to jump on any opportunities generated by Media City UK.”
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Tagged Media City, Peel Group, Salford Quays |
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Posted on September 16, 2010 by John Cronin
A developer has been ordered to partially demolish a new office block in Leeds after a neighbour complained that it deprived his own property of light.
Developers Highcross added two additional floors to the existing five storey Toronto Square office, adding over 7,000 sq ft of floor space. The £10m extension was completed in 2009 and was leased to business consultants Zolfo Cooper on a 10-year lease.
But next-door neighbour Marcus Heaney filed for an injunction against Highcross, arguing that the extra floors deprived his own property of a right to light. Heaney, who runs an event management business, owns the former Yorkshire Penny Bank building in Infirmary Street.
The case was initially thrown out on the basis that Heaney did not complain about the development during the construction phase. However, courts subsequently granted him an injunction against Highcross, requiring the developer to pull down part of the extension. Chris Mills, commercial development director at Newbury-based Highcross, said the property fund manager and developer was appealing against the ruling after taking professional advice.
The Toronto Square office development is located in the commercial district of Leeds city centre and offers Grade A floor space of 74,145 sq ft with a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating. In January 2010 recruitment consultants Reed signed a 10-year lease for 6,695 sq ft of ground floor space at rental prices of £24/sq ft.
Posted in West Yorkshire |
Tagged Planning, Rental Prices |
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Posted on September 16, 2010 by John Cronin
Infrastructure services giant Balfour Beatty is to create 200 new jobs after signing-up for office space at a business park in Newcastle.
Balfour Beatty has taken a 10-year lease on the 41,000 sq ft Q14 building at the new Quorum Business Park on the edge of the city centre. The company is to use the floor space for a new UK customer services centre.
The business park has been constructed within an Enterprise Zone and aims to offer potential tenants competitive rental prices. Rents are quoted at between £14.95 and £16.95 per sq ft and incentives are also available. Offices in the ten available buildings have “Excellent” and “Very Good” BREEAM ratings. Serviced offices are available from single desk up to 1000 desk occupancy. On-site amenities including a nursery, retail centre, restaurants and sports club. Existing tenants include Tesco Bank, IBM and HM Revenue & Customs.
Agents are Knight Frank and DTZ.
Posted in Tyne and Wear |
Tagged Rental Prices, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on September 15, 2010 by John Cronin
Builders began digging the footings for the foundations of a new £75million office scheme in West Bromwich yesterday.
In one of the town’s biggest building projects seen in the last 30 years, construction company Bowmer and Kirkland are now working on a five-storey office block (141,000 sq ft) on All Saints Way for BT Liberata, an IT services company. About 450 staff will be based there once the office block is complete. The BT building will include a central atrium looking out onto a new public square that is also being built.
Developers Stoford are behind the scheme and have high hopes for the £75m All Saints project. All Saints, at the junction of the A41 Expressway and Cronehills Linkway on a 7 acre site, is part of a wider regeneration of West Bromwich town centre which has already seen the construction of The Public and will also see the complete overhaul of the local retail facilities. Stoford are ensuring that these new buildings comply to the BREEAM Excellent rating for office space. BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) is the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings.
Jon Andrews, Stoford Director, said: “This landmark development is just the start of a mighty ongoing office building programme to regenerate West Bromwich as a prime business location.”
“Designed to the highest sustainable standards in an attractive mixed-use environment and with rents of less than £20 per sq ft compared with over £30 per sq ft in central Birmingham, the accommodation should prove irresistible to companies looking to relocate to a bright, easily accessible, modern setting.”
Sandwell Metropolitan Council is heavily behind the new office development. Fred Lynch, CEO, Transform Sandwell, said: “The building of the regional business centre is a real demonstration of how BT contributes to economic regeneration within the Borough. It will be a strikingly modern ‘green’ office space and will also bring much needed economic activity to an important part of this area.”
Meanwhile, final details are being put together for the planning application for a separate office block next door to BT that will be home to West Bromwich Building Society. The Society plans to relocate 450 head office staff to the new All Saints development by early 2012. The firm is expected to take 70,000 sq ft of the 270,000 sq ft site. Having agreed in principle to lease the floor space, the Society is looking to leave it’s current head office on West Bromwich High Street where it has been based for over 30 years.
Posted in West Midlands |
Tagged All Saints, Rental Prices |
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Posted on September 14, 2010 by John Cronin
Reports suggest that the developers of the Pinnacle tower in the City of London are about to secure the much-needed first tenant for the building.
News sources including the London Evening Standard report that investment fund management group Schroders plc are considering leasing up to as much as a quarter of the available office space. Developers of the tower Arab Investments need to secure a large lease on the building in order to secure further funding to proceed with construction of the large-scale development.
The Pinnacle is a speculative development and is the only new City office building under construction that is scheduled to open after 2011. When complete it will be the tallest office block in the City, standing at some 288m, affording approximately 1m sq ft of premium floor space over 61 floors. The building has been dubbed the Helter-Skelter due to the spiral like design of the exterior. Architects behind the development are Kohn Pedersen Fox.
It is suggested that Arab Investments are hoping to let 250,000 sq ft of space on the third to 10th floors to a single company at rental prices of approximately £60/sq ft. The highest floors in the tower will be the last to be let at rental prices of up to £90/sq ft. Bloomberg have interviewed Khalid Affara, managing director of London-based Arab Investments who said: “I’m confident I will sign a tenant to enable this project to continue” and without naming names he also suggests that “two or three” providers of serviced offices are waiting to sign lease agreements on the Pinnacle.
Commercial agents CB Richard Ellis have just announced that they have been appointed as joint leasing agent to work alongside Savills Commercial on The Pinnacle. Mark Slim, Executive Director, Central London, CB Richard Ellis, said: “The Pinnacle will be one of the City’s finest buildings and this mandate represents a major win for the firm. CBRE has wanted to be part of the Pinnacle team for some time and we are delighted to be involved going forward. We will put the full global resources of CBRE into motion on behalf of The Pinnacle Limited and its shareholders.”
Slim goes on to say: “Availability in the City is heading down fast. There’s not a lot of choice for tenants in terms of big floor plates and big buildings.”
Posted in London |
Tagged Rental Prices, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on September 14, 2010 by John Cronin
Open House London 2010 is taking place on Saturday 18th – Sunday 19th September giving members of the public free access to a number of London buildings.
The free architectural showcase aims to allow the public to see inside a wide range of public and private buildings. Over 700 buildings are taking part including several London office developments:
- Tower 42 – the tallest tower in the City of London
- Centre Point – a Grade II listed tower
- 55 Broadway – London Underground Head Office
- National Office of Arts Council England – RIBA Award Winner 2009
Foster and Partners, architects of many award winning commercial developments are also opening the mezzanine floor of their own Battersea studio for the event with recent projects on display.
For more news of the event, a list of buildings taking part and details on how to obtain a free guide visit the official website.
Posted in London |
Tagged Foster and Partners, Open House London |
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Posted on September 13, 2010 by John Cronin
Runners will get the chance to take part in a race with a difference next year – to the top of the Gherkin.
The charity race, organised to raise funds for the NSPCC, will see runners climb the 1,037 stairs of the iconic City of London skyscraper.
Registration has now opened for Step Change 2011, which will take place next March and for which limited spaces are available.
About ‘The Gherkin’
The Gherkin is one of the most recognisable office blocks in the City of London, if not the world. The unusually shaped skyscraper (hence the widely used nickname) is situated at 30 St Mary Axe on the former site of the Baltic Exchange.
Standing at 180m tall, it is, for the time being at least, the second most tallest building in the City of London and the sixth tallest in London. Despite the curved shape of the building there is just one piece of curved glass in the structure that being the lens at the apex of the tower. Designed by architects Foster and Partners the award winning building was based upon a radial plan to ensure that it met with a site that was somewhat space constrained. The maximum circumference of the building at 178m is just 2m less than its height.
Offering 76,400 sq m of floor space over 41 floors the Gherkin offers premium Grade A office accommodation along with a retail shopping arcade. Described by the architects as being the first ecological tall building in London, the energy-conscious enclosure of the structure resolves walls and roof in to a continuous triangulated skin, allowing column-free floor space, light and views.
The Gherkin widens in profile as it rises and tapers towards the tower apex. This distinctive form of the building is in response to the constraints of the site and as such:
- the building appears more slender than a rectangular block of equivalent size
- reflections are reduced and transparency is improved
- the slimming profile towards the base maximises the public realm at ground level
- the profile reduces the amount of wind deflected to the ground compared with a rectilinear tower of similar size, helping to maintain pedestrian comfort at street level.
The building has a fully glazed facade maximising the available natural light (modified by solar control blinds) and affording spectacular views across London from all offices. The facade has opening panels that draw fresh air in to the communal spaces the spiral up the building. This system reduces the towers reliance on air conditioning and together with other sustainable measures, means that the building is expected to use up to half the energy consumed by air-conditioned office towers.
The building was chosen as the winner of the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Sterling Prize 2004 after receiving a unanimous decision from the judging panel.
Originally developed for insurance giant Swiss Re the building is currently let to several companies.
Hat tip: Londonist
Posted in London |
Tagged Foster and Partners, Serviced Offices |
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