Work to start on £20m Friar Gate Square
WORK will start next month on a multi-million-pound office development in Derby.
Developer Lowbridge has said that it will begin building the first phase of the £20 million Friar Gate Square scheme, creating about 250 jobs, on February 13.
Sited on the corner of Agard Street and Ford Street, it will be the first speculative office development to be built in Derby for 20 years.
Derby City Council is providing an undisclosed amount of cash from its £10 million Regeneration Fund, which was set up to stimulate office developments in the city centre, to help with construction costs.
Friar Gate Square will be a two-phase development.
The first phase, which is due for completion in January next year, will provide 32,000 sq ft of office space over six storeys.
Work on the second phase will begin once all the offices in the first phase have been let. Innes England and CBRE have been appointed as the letting agents.
It is believed the development could create 700 jobs when both phases have been completed.
City council leader Philip Hickson said: "This project will deliver major regeneration benefits and provide an enormous boost for the city.
"The council has an ongoing commitment to stimulating the economy in Derby and the purpose of the regeneration fund is to help kick-start schemes which otherwise might not start because of the economic climate.
"If we encourage developers to start work on new schemes, they will become a catalyst for others to follow and the city will benefit from the major inward investment that is generated."
At present, Derby has about a million square feet of city centre office projects waiting to be built.
But because of a lack of confidence in the market, developers are struggling to attract investment for projects where a tenant is not already in place.
City council chief executive Adam Wilkinson said: "There has been considerable work to get to this point and this will be the first major scheme to start with the assistance of the Regeneration Fund.
"With this first scheme coming out of the ground, we are encouraged that other developers will see the benefits of investing in Derby with everything our vibrant and attractive city has to offer."
Roger Shine, chairman of Lowbridge, said: "I'm delighted that our further investment in Derby, together with funding from the city council's Regeneration Fund will bring to fruition this exciting development.
"These new office buildings will help to re-establish this historic quarter as the premier location for businesses in Derby."
7 Comments
by v6200man
Saturday, January 28 2012, 5:28PM
“I can think of far better ways for the City Council to spend its cash - or rather ours - to me the very word speculative is obscene and pathetic”
by JonBoyWalton
Wednesday, January 25 2012, 10:52PM
“A little more reading and I find the architects (Panter Hudspith) are yet again a London based company - are there no local architects capable of this work?
And that the offices have already been offered to the city council - yes, that would be the same council that is spending a fortune on renovating it's offices so it can relocate it's workers to a single building the other side of town.
So the council is providing an 'undisclosed amount' of money meant for regeneration, to a non-local company, to build offices that the council itself may end up renting.”
by Movg4wdintheQ
Wednesday, January 25 2012, 8:23PM
“@ amjohnno
"The reason nobody wants to work in the offices which already exist is because they're woefully outdated. The article clearly states there hasn't been a new speculative office development in Derby in 20 years, and it's vital if you wish to attract new business. If you're starting up a new company or looking to move, image is everything.
And in 20 years time, these too will be empty - I rest my case.”
by JonBoyWalton
Wednesday, January 25 2012, 6:23PM
“This will not 'create' 700 jobs. It will create office space for companies employing up to 700 staff.
If those staff are relocated from other offices around Derby then no new employment will be created. If on the other hand the development attracts companies to Derby then that will be a genuine increase in employment.
Who are Lowbridge? Google searches just turn up articles about this development. Are they a specific company set up for this development? In which case, who is behind them?”
by amjohnno
Wednesday, January 25 2012, 5:32PM
“The reason nobody wants to work in the offices which already exist is because they're woefully outdated. The article clearly states there hasn't been a new speculative office development in Derby in 20 years, and it's vital if you wish to attract new business. If you're starting up a new company or looking to move, image is everything. Why would a company choose to move into an aging building in Derby when they could get a brand new prestige office somewhere else? They simply wouldn't. If you can't afford your own building on Pride Park, then you're going to be looking for office space somewhere else. And if the only place they can find empty modern facilities is in Nottingham or Birmingham, then that's where they're going to go.
The people on this site who pooh-pooh new developments because they believe modern organisations want to work in decrepit old buildings are living in a fantasy world. This is about making Derby a more attractive place for business than Nottingham, Leicester or Birmingham. You don't do that by back-filling the tired old structures which already exist.”
by Movg4wdintheQ
Wednesday, January 25 2012, 5:12PM
“Oh goody! More empty offices - how delightful.
Creating jobs for whom? The Council administrators, solicitors, surveyors, accountants? Or the developer's legal eagles and their sub-contractors and suppliers?
Will the development be built on time, on budget and in accordance with the agreed tender/contract blah blah?
Once built, how long will it be before the offices are occupied, rents paid and people genuinely employed?
Please show us the sums. When this proposed building and the new opportunity for employment is complete, please may I have one of these 'created jobs'?
And don't mention long-term investment; if Derby's anything to go by (according to stats published on the website from time to time), we'll be dead before we can benefit - too fat, too thick, too drunk, too many people with disability, too...”
by Mr_Boat
Wednesday, January 25 2012, 1:16PM
“How can this regeneration of building new offices create more jobs when we have lots of other completely good offices/building laying empty? There are buildings around the 5 lamps area, Pride Park, etc that are perfect and going to waste, why not use the money on these buildings???? Surely if compananies wanted to use these they would already, rather than build new offices that are also going to be empty, gggrrrrr!!!!...”