Funding secured for Darlington office development
The 50,000 sq ft town centre building has secured £410,000 to progress through the planning stages, and will be one of four projects delivered in the town by Cityheart.
As well as Cityheart, the wider project team includes Space Architects, Identity Consult, engineers BGP and TGA, ELG Planning, and OOBE landscape architects.
The building will be opposite the new Darlington Government Hub on Brunswick Street, which is under construction. Developed by the Government Property Agency and delivered by Kier, the £118m Darlington Economic Campus will house around 1,600 civil servants and nine government departments.
The land for this complimentary office building has already been cleared and is ready for development to begin. Once complete, it will have capacity for 500 desks.
Cllr Chris McEwan, cabinet member for economy, said: “There is an increasing demand from private sector professional and financial services who are keen to move nearer to the new Darlington Government Hub, so it makes absolute sense to use the empty space on East Street to fulfil that demand.
“Bringing more people into Darlington town centre to work in the new office space is great news for our town, as the increasing footfall will ensure our town remains well used, vibrant and attractive for many years to come.
“It’s undoubtedly an exciting time for Darlington, with both the new office building and Government Hub springing up within yards of one another, a new commercial quarter is taking shape in our town bringing with it a new era for Darlington.”
James Litherland, development director, Cityheart, commented: “The first phase office marks the start of the delivery of a new commercial quarter in Darlington which will capitalise on the investment in the Economic Campus, allowing businesses to cluster and complement the new Government Hub.
“This will provide much needed high-quality jobs and support the vitality of the town centre. We will announce more in the coming months as we work up a planning application and seek the views of local residents and businesses.”
