Regeneration is a ‘hot topic’, with the ever-changing landscape of city living and working being the key drivers for developers and property investors to consider how best to optimise and transform unused and outdated spaces to enhance communities and revitalise city centres. Many of these regeneration projects have a mix of residential and commercial spaces with social and economic growth being at the heart of it.
Wright Hassall’s Commercial Real Estate team advised the freeholder of a SIPP Pension Fund and the subsequent letting from the pension fund to the commercial tenant on Citation House in Worcester city centre.
The building was a former headquarters office block that is a Grade II listed building. The project was a challenge due to its historical nature and a large modern extension on the rear of the building. The site, which had been almost untouched since the 1980s, required various viability tests and once the surveys and long-term viability research concluded, it was agreed that a residential focus with mixed usage capacity would be the best option which targeted professional millennials.
Throughout the project, the building’s historical features were considered with the Georgian frontage being restored. Two additional levels were added at the rear extensions to create a five-storey building, allowing for the designed 38 affordable dwellings, a mix of studios and one and two bed apartments, to be created. Further to the dwellings, community style living was key to this project, with a shared courtyard and garden space, reception and gym being created.
The building had a biophilic design, allowing for its residents to be closer to nature with an emphasis on the importance of health and well-being. This was reflected in the design of the balconies and internal spaces, with each apartment being provided with a dedicated e-bike/bike space and vertical strips of green living wall and timber fins being added to the building to bring the outside in. Deep balcony spaces for residents were built to allow them to have a view of this natural environment.
Furthermore, to add commercial value to the building, part of the ground floor was retained in the listed building section for office space to be built. With the building located centrally and within a couple of minutes’ walk from the train station, it makes for an ideal location for businesses to use this space along with residents to live.
The above case demonstrates the ever-changing landscape across the country. Buildings that were once only used as tired offices are transformed into beautiful and adaptable spaces that reflect the demands of modern-day life through green-incentives and a balanced lifestyle with a bigger focus on health and well-being, whilst still being commercially viable through an office space offering. It is a fine balance of having a mixed use space, but it is something that we are certain will emerge more as the years go on.
