A significant new office development in Edinburgh has achieved practical completion.
No2 Freer Street has been developed by Vastint Hospitality as part of its New Fountainbridge mixed-use development. The building comprises 59,554 sq ft of Grade A office space over seven floors.
Phase 1 of New Fountainbridge also includes the newly open 262-bedroom Moxy hotel with rooftop bar, other commercial and retail units plus ‘extensive’ public realm. It is set within a masterplan of new pedestrian and road routes with green spaces which will re-connect Fountainbridge to the Union Canal.
Gijs Vermeulen, project manager at Vastint, said, “Reaching practical completion of this high quality building is an achievement that everyone involved can be extremely proud of. Building during a pandemic hasn’t come without its challenges but I am delighted to say that the hard work of the team has resulted in a first-class office building for Edinburgh.
“Our vision for the overall development is starting to come to life and there is a buzz to the area which will only grow as the plans progress and we add more elements to the site.”
The building has a double height entrance and offers 13 car park spaces, 46 cycle spaces (with the potential for more), and shower/changing facilities with lockers. All office floors have VRF air conditioning and are said to benefit from an ‘abundance’ of natural light. A ‘band raster’ ceiling system is said to allow for easy partitioning. The building has achieved an EPC ‘A’ and BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating. There is also a roof terrace with views of Edinburgh Castle and the Firth of Forth.
Features include a Wi-Fi enabled multi-use reception with breakout spaces, meeting rooms and a café that will be run by an independent operator. Fit-out of this area is about to start.
The project was designed by 3DReid. McLaughlin & Harvey was the main contractor with HD Property Consultants taking the role of project managers. Other consultants included Fairhurst (structural engineers) and RSP Consulting Engineers (M&E engineers). CuthbertWhite is the letting agent for the office space and jointly with Savills they also market the ground floor retail/leisure units.
Chris Jetten, development manager at Vastint, said, “This project represents the regeneration of an important city centre brownfield site which has sat vacant for ten years. With the delivery of the office building at Freer Street, phase 1 is now complete. The start of the construction of phase 2 is planned for this summer. It will deliver new homes to provide high quality living over a variety of property types including town houses, single storey and duplex apartments, and penthouse suites with roof top terraces.”
