One of Newcastle’s 1960s white elephant office blocks has been refurbishment and rebranded as a prestige business hub. Originally built as Pearl Assurance House, and used as the insurance company’s Tyneside headquarters, the concrete-clad building stood empty for almost a decade before it was bought by Hermes Real Estate Investment Management. In 2011 it was granted permission for a £3m make-over.
Now, after a 10-month refurbishment, the eight-storey New Bridge Street block has been renamed The Pearl and is attracting attention from businesses looking for offices on an already Grade A starved Tyneside. “We have already seen office take-up in the region reach a five-year high,” said Chris Pearson, a partner with joint agents Gavin Black & Partners.
“With a severe shortage of Grade A space as a result of the uplift in letting activity, The Pearl is the only opportunity to acquire an entire building although we anticipate considerable interest in taking space on a floor-by-floor basis.”
As part of the refurbishment, carried out by Sunderland-based Brims Construction, the interior was stripped back to its core to create open-plan offices of between 2,560sq ft and 3,535sq ft. A new heating and cooling system was installed, all the windows replaced, and the entrance and reception areas upgraded. In all The Pearl now offers almost 38,000sq ft of floorspace.
One innovative feature is TheForum@ThePearl, a 17,500 sq ft floor designed to accommodate smaller enterprises in cellular, bespoke offices all of which open out onto a communal meeting area.
“The creation of this business hub will bring out the best of this large floor area, with has a concept of open space to allow the sharing of ideas between occupiers in a relaxed and attractive working environment at the heart of the city,” explained architect Stuart Palmer of Studio-SP.
“The Pearl has always been a landmark city centre office building. Its white exterior and height made it a building with impact. It will continue to have an important position in the city centre, bringing back some valuable work space,” he added. “The remodelling of The Pearl is a natural progression for the original building. We are not re-inventing The Pearl, just improving it.”
Ian Cody is director of asset management at Hermes Real Estate. “This project has given us a tremendous opportunity to create a rejuvenated city centre icon that will deliver exceptional new offices for entrepreneurial businesses needing flexibility as well as presence,” he said.
Built with ground floor shops below a prominent two-storey base, and topped by five more floors of offices, the original Pearl Assurance House attracted praise and condemnation in equal measure. One over-critical architectural historian branded it “the ugliest building, in Britain’s ugliest city”.
All that has now been swept away claims Tim Evans, of co-agents Knight Frank, who describes the project as “an outstanding improvement to a landmark building … The Pearl now rises above the city centre in an impressive fashion”.
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