Rockspring Property Investment Managers, together with development partner Charterfield Asset Management, have secured a resolution to grant planning permission for the speculative redevelopment of Centurion House, EC3, into a new 80,000 sq ft Grade A office building.
Demolition will begin next month and main construction work is planned to start early in the New Year. A contractor will be appointed in the next six weeks. Completion is targeted for Q2 2013.
Located in the heart of the City of London, the new scheme is designed by David Walker Architects. The existing building, which was only acquired in December last year, was originally built in the mid 1980s and consists of 61,000sqft of outdated office accommodation.
The plans provide for not only a one third increase in the net lettable area of the building, but also an improvement in the quality of the accommodation, with the planned specification including column free space, floor to ceiling windows and an impressive reception / entrance hall. The building is targeted to achieve a BREEAM 鈥榚xcellent鈥� rating.
Rockspring fund manager Richard Bains said: 鈥淪ince acquiring this project last year, we have drawn up ambitious plans to create an entirely new ground up development which will appeal to a wide range of City occupiers. Securing this planning resolution will now enable us to deliver the Grade A office in the second quarter of 2013, at a time where we see little competition in the market for comparable space.鈥�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
