RIGA Building
Project value: £12.8m
Sector: Commercial
Completed: June 2020
Local spend: 72.3%
BREEAM rating: Excellent
The commission of this new office development is another step towards achieving the vision for the broader Gateshead Quays. It’s an exciting time for the borough. Not only will it bring around 600 new jobs to Gateshead but it will give a much-needed boost to the local economy.
Sheena Ramsey
Gateshead Council chief executive
Willmott Dixon have delivered the First Grade-A office building in the Gateshead Quays area for 10 years, on behalf of Gateshead Council.
The brand new, BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rated office building for Gateshead Council, has created a place of work for more than 600 people and was 100% pre-let before completion.
Handed over during the summer of 2020, the team worked to strict Covid-19 safe working practices to keep the project running, creating over half a million pounds of essential local spend within 20 miles during March and April and keeping businesses open during a challenging stage of the pandemic.
Gateshead Council opted for Willmott Dixon’s extensive experience in delivering high-quality commercial and office space to create the development located in the Baltic Business Quarter in the heart of Gateshead.
The £12.8m project, which was procured through the SCAPE construction framework, consists of 5,681m² of flexible floor space across six storeys of state of the art office space.
Hosting up to 600 people, the building is designed to appeal to both local SMEs and large corporates looking to base themselves within high specification headquarters next to the quays, giving a much-needed boost to the Gateshead economy.
The building was handed over in the summer of 2020. This meant the Government-backed Construction Leadership Council’s Site Operating Procedures were embedded for the final few months of the project.
During this critical time, safe working arrangements were introduced including a series of one-way systems, increased sanitation stations and staggered lunch breaks to reduce crowding. Introducing these arrangements meant the site was able to stay open during the pandemic.
Construction of the Riga building generated over half a million pounds of spend within 20 miles during the Covid-19 stricken March and April of 2020. Designed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ specification and anticipated to achieve an EPC rating: A; the building was 100% pre-let before opening in the summer of 2020.
Through the unique design, floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural daylight to flood in creating a healthy working environment.
Hosting up to 600 people, the new office block will provide a much-needed boost to the Gateshead economy.
In challenging times, to say that this building is 100% let before the doors have even opened signifies confidence in Gateshead and Riga will play a crucial role in Gateshead’s recovery. It has already created a number of jobs across the whole supply chain, including over 450 construction jobs on site for the last 18 months. We agreed to build this office block speculatively because we know what a great location this is for growing businesses and it has paid off even in the face of adversity
Cllr Martin Gannon
Gateshead council
£10.3m
Local spend
£5.3m
Total Social Return on Investment
79.9%
Local labour
In collaboration with:
Project gallery
Related case studies
Construction frameworks | Commercial
Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP)
Construction frameworks | Leisure & Recreation