English Office Building to Undergo Transformation
A three-story office building in an established London business park is getting a makeover.
By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor
London, England—A three-story office building in an established London business park is getting a makeover.
The three-story Bower is part of Stockley Park, one of Europe’s premier business parks. It is a 144,000-square-foot office building, originally constructed in the 1980s. Now, it is about to undergo a £24 million (about $37.3 million) project which will transform it into the “most highly-specified” office property in Stockley Park.
The plans for the project were approved in December 2014. However, The Bower has changed owners since then. Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP, on behalf of its UK Value 2 LP and Clearbell Capital LLP, on behalf of Clearbell Property Partners II LP, purchased The Bower in June, as part of a joint venture. Aberdeen Property Trust was the seller. When it announced the acquisition, the joint venture also said that it intends to go ahead with the modernization project.
ISG Plc, an international construction services company based in England, has been selected to upgrade and expand The Bower. Plans call for major strucutural alterations to the 1980s era building and the creation of 137,000 square feet of Grade A, BREEAM Excellent rated office accommodation. BREEAM Excellent is the second highest rating a building can achieve under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology, the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings.
As part of the project, ISG will construct two new wings, adding 20,000 square feet to the property. This will turn The Bower into one of the largest new developments in the Thames Valley region. The construction company will also renovate the building’s façade, add a new atrium and new staircases, upgrade the mechanical and electrical infrastructure, and install new and more efficient building services, and roof-mounted photovoltaic cells, to generate emission-free electricity.
The project is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2016.
Photo credit: ISG Plc
