The London offices are scheduled to be reopened in mid-2014, with the building’s new owners enlisted Quadrant Estates to carry out the necessary improvement work. First constructed in 1992, the Carmelite building is a Grade II listed office space development, and it sits just yards north of the River Thames.
Plans for the site, which was sold as an officially vacant property, are to deliver 130,000 sq ft of Grade A London offices, with floorplates to be available for rent on a scale of around 20,000 sq ft.
“We are confident the space will attract tenants at a time when several long leases expire in buildings that will no longer be fit for purpose,” said Aref Lahham, a founding partner and a managing director of Orion Capital Management.
The company expects the development to reach a value of some £120 million. It hopes potential occupiers of the Mid-Town offices will be attracted away from the nearby West End district and from the City of London, which sits just a short way to the east of the newly bought site at 50 Victoria Embankment.
“Carmelite is a prime Mid-Town HQ building in an enviable location overlooking the Thames,” said Tristram Gethin, managing and founding director of Quadrant Estates.
“The West End, Mid-Town and City all have limited supply of Grade A office space and this location is increasingly seen by many occupiers as a viable alternative to the West End. We are expecting demand from occupiers looking for first-class offices in a prime riverside location.”
Work on the site is scheduled to begin in the early weeks of 2013. The refurbishment effort’s target of reaching a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating for sustainability has been set for those involved.
Editor’s notes: As of July 2024, the renamed Carmelite House offered 8,253 square feet of office space for rent. Complete with air conditioning, period features, and modern end-of-trip facilities, the Grade II listed building is within walking distance of One New Change’s retail and leisure offerings.