The Government Property Unit has selected Artisan Real Estate Investors’ 190,000 sq ft Edinburgh office as the location for a new civil service hub.
Some 2,900 civil servants will move to the scheme in New Waverley in 2020. Departments will include HMRC, which will run one of its 13 regional centres from the office. Construction is under way and is due to be completed in summer 2019.
Artisan’s £200m, 7.5-acre mixed-use scheme links Waverley Station with the city’s Royal Mile, forming part of the Old Town’s Unesco world heritage site. During the past two years, New Waverley has delivered 400 hotel bedrooms, including two Whitbread hotels – a Premier Inn and a Hub by Premier Inn – and an Adagio Aparthotel overlooking the Royal Mile.
As well as completing 45 affordable homes, New Waverley has also delivered a row of 19 Victorian arches which has been transformed into a new artisan-based leisure café and specialised retail district for the city. Currently under development is a boutique hotel by Apple Apartments, and a further 148 new homes are also planned.
The scheme is the latest office to be selected by the Government Property Unit for its hubs programme, which aims to consolidate of its offices estate into giant hubs around the country in a bid to drive savings and create cross-departmental workplaces.
Artisan projects director Clive Wilding said: “Bringing the UK government hub right into the historic heart of the city is a ringing endorsement for what we are building here – not just for New Waverley, but for the city of Edinburgh and for Scotland.
“For New Waverley, it is another significant step of our journey to restore life, vitality and energy to this very special part of Edinburgh’s historic city centre, and will be a natural fit for the exciting and vibrant mixed-use community we have created there. It sends out an important message that our city centres have the interest, value and capacity to attract investment from the very best employers, which sets an important precedent for Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland.”
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