Office of the month: The Capital

DOWNING Developments has just released the final floor of The Capital building on Old Hall Street in the heart of Liverpool’s commercial district onto the market.

The firm has begun a six-month programme to refurbish the 24,197 sq ft Level 0 of the 390,000 sq ft building, which is actually on the sixth level above ground.

The Liverpool-based developer said that the refurbishment work would include the installation of new full-width glazing around the external wall will offer panoramic views of the Mersey looking over Princes Dock and to the north of the city.

Downing is understood to have spent £51m on acquiring the 17-storey Capital building in 2006 and a further £10m on its refurbishment. It was purpose-built in 1976 as the headquarters for Royal Assurance and contained features such as an internal 220-seat lecture theatre, a seven-a-side football pitch and even a rifle range.

“It’s an inward-looking building – the like of which will probably never be seen again,” explains Downing Developments’ senior agency Surveyor Robin Ellis.

“And although its a different architectural style, it was built with the same ambition as the Three Graces.”

Indeed, the architectural style certainly has its critics and the have external cladding made the building look dated externally, but internally the work done has included the creation of a huge atrium which has become a stunning feature of the building since the refurbishment was completed.

The investment has clearly paid off, though, with Downing securing Liverpool’s biggest ever commercial letting in October 2009 when it signed a deal to let more than half of the office space to the UK Border Agency, which has taken 220,000 sq ft on a 15-year lease and is currently in the midst of consolidating staff from several existing sites into the building.

Royal & Sun Alliance – the successor organisation to the building’s former owners – still retains a number of floors on the building, while economic development company Liverpool Vision is also a tenant.

Indeed, Ellis said the release of Level 0 represents “the last chance for anyone to come into the building for the foreseeable future”.

Ellis said that Downing has worked on building occupiers such as Tesco Express into the front of the building, whereas a large open-plan area includes a new 80-seat cafe and a florist – both of which are run by local entrepreneurs.

He said that other uses would be planned to boost activity in the glazed area, but added that Downing “don’t want to turn it into a mall”.

“We see it more of a business facility for tenants,” he said.

Ellis added that although the building’s architectural style has somewhat fallen out of favour, it is highly-rated by architects and engineers as a workable space.

It even has foundations to allow for the construction of another tower, although Ellis said Downing has no plans to add any more space to the building.

Instead, he said, the redevelopment carried out has brought it to a standard where it has very strong environmental credentials and efficient floorplates.

“We wanted everything to be as good or better than a new build – right down to the amount of fresh air that comes into the toilets,” he said.

“We believe we’ve set the standards for refurbished space in the city.”

Joint letting agents for The Capital are GVA and DTZ.