Refurbishments answer employers’ wish for Grade A Space
Commercial property owners in the Tees Valley are answering employers’ demands for top quality working environments by spending millions of pounds to upgrade their buildings.
The investment is providing much sought after Grade A office space at a time when the construction of new commercial developments has ground to a halt.
The latest refurbished building to come onto the market is Westminster House on Teesdale Business Park.
Commercial property specialist Portland Dodds Brown has been appointed as the letting agent and Richard Wilson – one of its Partners – said the quality of Westminster House’s upgrade, its position and the exciting regeneration of Stockton taking place nearby makes it highly attractive for forward-thinking employers.
Already, even before the availability of space has been proactively marketed, an international company has made an offer for half of the ground floor.
“Teesdale Business Park is undoubtably the premier business park in the whole of the Tees Valley,” said Mr Wilson. “But the availability of Grade A offices is extremely limited because new developments are simply not happening. The response of our clients is to invest.”
Last year, for example, the owner of Boaz House – which is just a 10 minute walk from Westminster House – spent £3.5m to transform the former home of credit card giant Barclaycard. Nearly 90% of the three-storey building has already been leased to new occupiers, including the px Group which has taken 30,000 sq. ft of space.
“I am confident that Westminster House will prove equally appealing to employers who recognise that a high quality working environment not only encourages staff to work from the office, it also helps retain them and that really boosts productivity,” said Mr Wilson. “In addition, Grade A office accommodation helps companies meet their key Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets.”
The task of refurbishing Westminster House was delivered by Portland Dodds Brown in partnership with Robertson Simpson Ltd, which is part of the same group of companies, provided building surveying expertise and project managed the work. “This relationship means there is a seamless collaboration between different roles,” explained Mr Wilson. “And that is hugely beneficial for projects of such complexity.”
Just over 14,300 sq. ft of space is available at Westminster House: the whole of the first floor, 8,150 sq. ft, and the most of entire ground level which is divided into two areas of 2,382 sq. ft and 3,771 sq. ft.
The building is rated A for its Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). There is a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, new ceilings and lighting. The entrance, lobby, common area, toilets and showers are also new. Outside there is ample car parking with six EV charging points. Pedestrian footbridges link Teesdale Business Park with Stockton town centre and Northshore. Thornaby rail station is close by and both the A66 and A19 are easily accessible.
Around 5,000 people work in Teesdale Business Park for employers including Visualsoft, Stockton Borough Council, Jonson Matthey, Ward Hadaway as well as px.
Over the past four years more than 230,000 sq. ft of commercial space was leased throughout the park, but now – even with the completion of work at Westminster House’s – only 25,000 sq. ft of much sought-after refurbished Grade A office accommodation is available.
To add to the appeal of Westminster House, it provides a great view of the new Stockton Waterfront Park, which is part of the £36m regeneration of Stockton town centre and riverside.
Longer term, Stockton Borough Council has announced plans to expand Teesdale Business Park into the adjacent Tees Marshalling Yards, develop a new Medical school for Teesside University on the vacant basin site and develop a new transport interchange at Thornaby train station.