Building Briefs - June 28th

• BNP Paribas to move Glasgow office to 177 Bothwell Street

The firm will move more than 200 staff currently based across the city into the 20,624 sq. ft. first floor of what will be Glasgow’s largest single office building.

While the letting sets a new headline rent for the city, occupiers will benefit from lower overall operational costs thanks to 177 Bothwell Street’s energy efficiency and a comparably lower service charge achieved through the building’s economies of scale.

The addition of BNP Paribas means there are now just three full floors available at 177 Bothwell Street. Virgin Money has pre-let 50% of the building for its new headquarters, while HFD Group’s serviced offices business will operate from another two floors.

177 Bothwell Street has been specifically designed to meet evolving occupier needs. The building was recently announced as the first Scottish property to commit to achieving the new SmartScore accreditation for smart buildings. It is also the first development in Scotland to achieve a ‘Platinum’ WiredScore certification, a standard recognising that future occupiers will have the best connectivity available.

In November 2020, HFD announced that 177 Bothwell Street would produce zero carbon emissions by going fully electric from 100% renewable power, while targeting an EPC rating of ‘A’ and BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard. It will also feature a rooftop terrace and running track, 318 cycle spaces, electric vehicle charging points, and touchless technology throughout the building.

An independent economic impact assessment concluded that the 313,000 sq. ft. development will generate £2.8 billion of gross value added (GVA) to the Scottish economy over 25 years.

Knight Frank and CBRE, 177 Bothwell Street’s joint agents, represented HFD Property Group with BNP Paribas Real Estate representing BNP Paribas. The building is set to complete in the fourth quarter of 2021.

• Second phase of Dundee development launched by Merchant Homes

Merchant Homes is set to launch its latest Dundee development with the second phase of Summerfield Gardens.

Completed in 2017, Summerfield Gardens proved popular with first-time buyers and families and sold out in just months.

Phase two consists of just 12 homes including both semi-detached and detached, three-bedroom homes with a mix of Merchant Homes’ most popular housestyles.

The new phase comprises of the popular Blair, Arran and Jura housestyles with many homes being released for sale at the end of June.

At 973 sq. ft, the Arran is a three-bedroom semi-detached home whilst the Jura is the boutique development’s largest housetype and only detached offering. Both homes can be viewed at the homebuilder’s Lochwood Gardens showhomes in Glasgow with an appointment.

The Blair is also a popular home amongst families at 907 sq. ft and can be viewed at Haddington Gardens, Merchant Homes’ now sold out development in the city of discovery.

First-time buyers can use the Help to Buy Scheme to secure their dream home with Merchant Homes when purchasing either the Blair or Arran housetypes.

• Barratt Homes helps out local Aberdeen communities

Barratt Developments North Scotland has donated £1,000 to the Bettridge Centre, as part of its latest Community Fund giveaway.

Each year Barratt Developments, which includes both Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes, works with a wide range of local causes, and throughout the pandemic, the five-star housebuilder has continued its work through the Community Fund to donate £1,000 to a deserving local cause in each of its three Scottish divisions every month.

The Bettridge Centre is an independent community-owned leisure centre, offering a wide selection of sports, community, arts and social events to the local families of Newtonhill. The donation from Barratt Homes has helped expand the Centre’s Active8 Challenge, which hosts a wide variety of free sport and physical activities for children and older people over the summer holidays.

Over the past month the Bettridge Centre has also run a programme called ReActive8 – designed to encourage isolated and vulnerable local people to take part in activities at the centre.

• Upgrades work at Bathgate primary approved

Work will be undertaken on parts of the roof at Balbardie Primary School in Bathgate this summer.

West Lothian Council has approved plans to carry out remedial work after Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) roof planks were found to be present at the old extension of Balbardie Primary School.

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), often referred to as Siporex, is a lightweight construction material that was commonly used in construction between the 1960s and late 1980s. It is no longer in use in the UK.

As has been previously reported, the council has undertaken a programme of structural surveys on buildings where RAAC roofs may be present and to determine their condition.

The original teaching spaces to the north side of Balbardie Primary School were destroyed by fire in the 1960s.  They were replaced by a three-storey teaching block connected to the original stone building and this teaching block contains RAAC roof planks.

Following a structural survey, engineer noted issues over the condition of the RAAC planks in one classroom, the corridor area and the stairwell. They noted that, whilst there was no immediate risk of failure, that a more detailed inspection should be undertaken of the entire roof deck to determine the wider condition of the planks and to undertake close inspections of the planks soffits/supports. The follow up structural survey concluded that, whilst safe at present, due to its condition, age, stabilisation works should be undertaken. Although the works required present no risk to the building, it is intended to progress these works quickly in order that they can be undertaken during the school holiday period.

Works will commence on June 25 and are expected to be completed by August 23.

Whilst the stabilisation works will mitigate the immediate risks associated with the RAAC roof, the council has agreed to replace the roof section.  Detailed design, appraisal and works programming will require to be undertaken to fully understand the scope and timescales for the works. The costs associated with replacing the roof are estimated to be £1.3 million.  It is proposed that the works to replace the roof are programmed to be undertaken during 2022/23.

• Boost for South Lanarkshire communities following further investment

New play parks for children, bridge improvements, cycle lanes and an outdoor gym are among a raft of new council investments.

A total of 17 new projects were approved by the executive committee last week and added to South Lanarkshire Council’s capital programme for 2021/22, providing a boost to communities across the area.

The new projects have been added to the existing capital programme that was approved last November and totals more than £85 million. On top of that, the council has a £94m programme for housing improvements across the area.