Hines, the international real estate firm, has unveiled plans to undertake a major transformation of 25 Cabot Square, its 455,000-square-foot office building in Canary Wharf, which will bring 200,000 square feet of new space to the market.
The building, which is to be rebranded The Cabot, was acquired in 2014 through a sale and leaseback with Morgan Stanley, who made a long-term commitment to the lower part of the building and now occupies 250,000 square feet over levels one through six. The shortage of new or redeveloped space coming to the market has triggered Hines’ decision to proceed with the renovation of the building.
Work will begin in July to undertake a comprehensive redevelopment of the ground floor entrance, extending and remodelling the arrival and reception area, and adding an additional 10,000 square feet of retail across four new units, which will include a restaurant, café and food and beverage outlet. In addition to significantly increasing the street-level retail amenities, Hines is re-landscaping the public realm across the site.
Hines will also be undertaking a complete renovation of the office space across levels 7 to 14 of the building, bringing over 200,000 square feet of new office space to the market when the work is completed in late-2018, coinciding with the opening of the new Crossrail Elizabeth line.
The work provides flexibility for additional space to be delivered and will create new terrace-level gardens on the 9th and 14th floors.
RIBA-award winning architects Carmody Groarke have been appointed to lead the re-design, which will reinvigorate the building to provide a contemporary workplace to meet changing occupier demands.
Following a competitive pitch for the joint leasing agency role, Hines has appointed CBRE and Squarebrook, alongside existing advisors Knight Frank.
Raj Rajput, managing director and head of asset management at Hines, said: “The renaissance of The Cabot will be a significant milestone for Hines. It reinforces our long term commitment to Canary Wharf as a market and is emblematic of the continuing evolution of the area.
“Canary Wharf is changing and is no longer the preserve of the financial services industry. Occupier demand is coming from an increasingly broad range of sectors, with TMT clearly at the fore, and there is a paucity of new, modern and flexible, large-scale workspace to serve this new dynamic.
“We have assembled a best-in-class development team which befits our ambitious vision and we are looking forward to undertaking the work and delivering an exemplar scheme which will provide a compelling proposition for occupiers.”
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 189 cities in 20 countries. Hines has approximately $96.5 billion of assets under management, including $48.5 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $48 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 114 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,206 properties, totaling over 390 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 533 properties, representing over 213 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
