Track record

Office refurbishment, WeWork, Hackney

London Borough of Hackney

Delivered the substantial refurbishment of 60,000 sq ft office block in Hackney

Building Surveying

Cost Consultancy

Service

£8M

Project value

Offices

Industry

James Porter

The project

Rapleys was instructed to act as Employers Agent on behalf of both the London Borough of Hackney and WeWork in delivering the substantial refurbishment of a 60,000 sq ft office block in the heart of Hackney, London.

The subject property was built in the 1960’s and is concrete frame construction comprising of four storeys of office space with long Crittal windows and flat roofs.

The project involved complete upgrade of the property including renewing the roof covering, replacing all windows with modern units, renewal of all CAT A installations and also CAT B fit out. The contract sum for the works was £8,000,000.

Our solution

Rapleys acted as Employers Agent throughout the project, taking the lead role in advising both London Borough of Hackney regarding the external and CAT A works, and also WeWork regarding their CAT B fit-out. This involved regular site meetings and rigorous reporting back to clients and stakeholders to ensure full engagement fulfilment from all involved.

The project programme was just six months so to aid cash flow to the Principal Contractor valuations were set at fortnightly. The Building Contract administered was a JCT Design & Build with Sectional Completion for the landlord works and tenant works.

Towards the conclusion of the project we granted partial possession to the client one month early on the ground and third floors to enable early occupation of the building which added value for both clients. The building was fully occupied by early March 2017 with the landlord section of works due for completion towards the end of the month.

Despite some challenges throughout the project, such as the new Crittal windows being delivered to site the wrong colour and having to be returned for re-powder coating, the internal works were completed to the ground and third floors one month ahead of schedule. This allowed early occupation for the tenant and helped our client to maximise revenue.

The building has seen significant upgrades including a new roof covering with a 20 year insurance-backed guarantee as well as modern energy efficient windows, LED lighting and new HVAC to improve the EPC rating for the building.

The Cat B fit out lends itself to a much improved working environment complete with break-out areas, personal phone booths, a retro Citroen van which doubles up as a bar, modern kitchen facilities, coffee machines, honesty bars and even a slide if you don’t feel like taking the stairs!

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