Oxford’s Hythe Bridge Street revamp set for approval

Planners at Oxford City Council have recommended approval at a meeting next week of the transformation of three office buildings on Hythe Bridge Street into a research and development facility. In March, Forge_Kn, a joint venture between Reef and UBS, lodged plans for the development of a 213,179 sq ft life sciences facility, which will provide laboratory space and a community hub including a café and garden. The development site measures 1.1 acres and comprises almost 120,000 sq ft of adjoining buildings, known as Beaver House and Boatman’s House. Beaver House is a four-storey multi-occupied 1970s office building with surface and basement car park. It provides 106,939 sq ft of floorspace. Boatman’s House comprises a three-storey and a one-storey building measuring a total of 12,465 sq ft. It is occupied for private educational use on the upper floors while there are three restaurants on the ground floor. It also has car parking at both ground and basement levels. Forge_Kn is looking to demolish all of the buildings on site to construct a new five-storey block. The floorspace will primarily be used for laboratory and offices, designed to ensure a wide range of research functions are capable of being undertaken, including wet labs, specialist support labs and associated collaboration spaces. Each floor is expected to be occupied by between one and four tenants, with the potential for a major tenant to occupy more than one floor or the entire building. The proposed development, designed by Purcell, is targeting a series of certifications including BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Gold. Savills is advising the jv on planning matters. View market analytics for Oxford >> Image © Purcell