The Government Property Unit is on the hunt for a further 250,000 sq ft in Bristol as it attempts to rationalise its estate.
BNP Paribas Real Estate UK has been appointed to oversee the search for the hub, which will predominantly house the Department for Work and Pensions.
The search follows HM Revenue and Customs agreeing a prelet for 107,000 sq ft at Salmon Harvester Properties’ 3 Glass Wharf in the city last year, as part of its 2m sq ft regional requirement. BNP PRE advised on the deal.
While GPU’s requirement was originally intended to bring together multiple departments in the same place, the nature of Bristol’s office market meant this was not possible.
There is currently only 48,000 sq ft of grade-A stock in the city, which is insufficient to accommodate the second tranche of the requirement. However, options exist in Bristol’s development pipeline.
One possibility is AXA IM and Bell Hammer’s Assembly Bristol site, in the Temple Quarter, which is currently in planning for 395,000 sq ft of offices and 15,000 sq ft of retail. Other options are Commercial Estates Group’s Aspire development – which is under construction, would offer 300,000 sq ft of offices and has the potential to become the largest office in Bristol – and Salmon Harvester Properties’ 4 Glass Wharf scheme.
Landlords are expected to make proposals by the end of next week.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “We are in the process of investigating potential sites for government hubs across the UK.
“The vision for the government hub is a place where our future workforce need to be: strategic locations with great public transport connections and a modern working environment. These offices would be truly shared spaces where departments can work effectively together.”
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