Ireland’s Green Property has unveiled what it claims is the biggest single office floor space in the city of Liverpool.
The Dublin-based company hopes its 35,000sq ft refurbishment of the iconic India Buildings in Water Street will help attract companies back to the city’s central business district, which has struggled to retain tenants as professional firms are attracted by more modern space around Old Hall Street.
Green Property bought the building in 2009 and has since undertaken a series of projects as part of a rolling refurbishment programme.
“We are returning India Buildings to the most prestigious address on Merseyside and are pleased to officially launch what we believe is Liverpool’s most desirable office accommodation.
“Nowhere else in the city is there the same mix of modern quality accommodation within such a striking and historic building. We believe we have got the blend of old and new just right,” said Green director, Mike Tapp.
The recently completed phase of the project involved the transformation of the entire fifth floor. Originally split into a series of separate offices, the fifth floor was opened up by stripping out pillars to turn it into one unobstructed space, which the company believes is the biggest open office area in the city and possibly the North-West.
“The fifth floor exploits the building’s character while providing the contemporary design and technical infrastructure modern businesses want,” said Tapp.
Offices within the building range from Grade A office and headquarters space designed for large corporates, to smaller office suites for the small and medium-sized enterprises. The company has also refurbished part of the second floor to create The Hub, its new flexible, easy-let, office complex.
As part of its commitment to retaining as much of the building’s historic design and atmosphere Green has salvaged as many of the original fixtures and fittings as possible, including dozens of doors which it plans to refurbish for future use.
The renovation has already received the approval of long-term tenant, corporate law firm DLA, which earlier this month announced it was keeping its India Buildings offices until at least 2020. The remaining space is being handled by joint agents, CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle.
Praising Green Property for its “mix of conservation and business foresight” Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, issued a “call to arms” to the local property industry to bring forward more schemes like the Water Street project to help to attract inward city investors. He also believed next June’s International Festival for Business would have a dramatic effect on inward investment and increase the pressure on Liverpool’s property sector to provide more office and industrial space.
Noted for its stunning triple-height marble entrance, India Buildings was built between 1924 and 1932 as the headquarters for Alfred Holt’s Blue Funnel Line and was designed by Herbert Rowse. The building took a direct hit during The Blitz and was restored and reopened in 1952.
