Russells Construction completes Caspian House

Caspian House, Atlantic Park

The £2.2m refurbishment of Caspian House at Atlantic Park on Merseyside has been completed. Russells Construction this week handed over the Grade A office building to representatives from the scheme’s development managers Industrial Securities, and landowner Royal London Asset Management.

The six-month refurbishment of the single storey building saw the remodelling of small internal offices into 35,000 sq ft of modern, flexible, open-plan space with a mezzanine level. Caspian House is now available to let and offers one of the largest floor plates in the North West office market  Formerly the offices of Rolls Royce, the building has been designed and constructed to meet the environmental standard ‘BREEAM very good’.

Russells’ scope of works included the internal fit out, mechanical and electrical engineering works, replacement roof and the incorporation of double height sections to bring additional natural light into the space. The redevelopment also included drainage and external work to provide a 136-space dedicated on-site car park.

Gareth Russell, construction director for Trafford Park-based Russells Construction, said: “Caspian House is the flagship commercial office development at Atlantic Park and its completion will hopefully be the first of many successful schemes for this mixed use development.

“The refurbishment has been designed to maximise the space and natural light of the existing building, creating a pleasant working environment within a self-contained and sustainable building. We’re pleased to have delivered this important project which will act as a catalyst for further economic regeneration of the area.”

The Atlantic Park is part-funded through £4.7m of grant funding. The scheme to develop 22 hectares on Dunningsbridge Road in Sefton, has received £3.1m from the European Regional Development Fund and a further £1.6m from the North West Development Agency as part of a commitment to attracting further investment and the creation of up to 1,500 jobs in the area.

Rob Currie, development manager for Industrial Securities at Atlantic Park, said: “Caspian House offers something quite different to the Merseyside office market and is another important step forward in Atlantic Park becoming a key employment site for north Liverpool. We’re delighted with the quality of the build.”

The Caspian House refurbishment is the fourth project Russells has carried out for Royal London, having completed the refurbishment of the neighbouring warehouse at Atlantic Park in April 2009. Previous work included construction of both the Orion Business Park and Hercules Business Park in Cheadle. Other Russells Construction projects include the recent completion of the first phase of the £8.6m Eastbank housing regeneration project for Peel and Manchester City Council in Ancoats, and the commencement of the LPC Living project to bring 114 new homes and a Morrisons supermarket to Ordsall, Salford.