The Atria - final piece in the Exchange jigsaw, Monday July 23 2012
A landmark Grade A office development – Atria – is to complete
Edinburgh's Exchange financial district. Ruth MacDonald, principal
project manager at The City
of Edinburgh Council, explains more...
What is Atria?
Atria Edinburgh is a landmark office development in the heart of
Edinburgh's prime office district, The Exchange.
Created by The City of
Edinburgh Council, the development comprises two buildings
providing 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation (Atria One,
186,519 sq ft and Atria Two, 13,218 sq ft) and 4,000 sq ft of prime
retail space and is the only speculative city centre office
building in the UK outside London and the South East to offer more
than 100,000 sq ft by early 2013. The buildings are due to complete
in the first quarter of 2013.
Atria One is the only building in Edinburgh which will achieve
BREEAM 'Excellent' post completion under the current regulations
(2009).
Why is it important?
This is the final undeveloped site within the Exchange district,
Scotland's premier business district, and is being developed as an
expansion to the Edinburgh
International Conference Centre (EICC) and additional
commercial office space.
Since the EICC opened in 1995 it has delivered an economic
impact for Edinburgh of more than £300 million. To compete in a
global conference market, the EICC needs to expand to be able to
attract even greater numbers and host larger events, thereby
realising an estimated £2.4 billion economic impact for Edinburgh
and Scotland over a 30-year term. In order to fund this expansion,
the office development is being progressed to maximise lettable
floor space and the value of the office development will
cross-subsidise the cost of the expansion to the EICC. The
commercial elements are intentionally designed to facilitate the
lettings and eventual sale of the offices and retail space on
completion of the development.
What is the project's value and how is it being
funded?
The overall project cost is approximately £85m. The project is
being funded predominantly by The City of Edinburgh Council
with part-funding by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian
(SEE&L).
Who are the stakeholders and what's their
vision?
The key stakeholders involved in the project are The City of Edinburgh Council,
Scottish
Enterprise and the Edinburgh
International Conference Centre. Our vision is to ensure the
EICC continues to prosper in the global conference industry through
this expansion and that we secure quality tenants into much needed
Grade A office space in the capital.
