New commercial building up for surveyors award
A city development has been shortlisted for a commercial award.
Wolverhampton’s new i9 development has been shortlisted for a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK award.
The city centre office complex is in the running for the best Commercial Development.
Winners will be announced across the RICS network on Wednesday, May 18 and via YouTube.
The i9 emerged following the building of the i10 building on the opposite side of Railway Drive in the city centre, with both being delivered by the council and property developer, Ion.
The council and Ion selected Glenn Howells Architects’ design for i9 as the winner from a field of 10 UK architects and urban design practices in a national design competition.
And contractor GRAHAM constructed the six-storey Grade A office building, which also includes the potential for 5,600 sq ft of retail space.
The five floors of office space were fully let within weeks of completion and i9 boasts the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ second headquarters among its occupiers, alongside LGPS Central Limited and West Midlands Pension Fund.
Wolverhampton Council's director of regeneration, Richard Lawrence, said: "To be shortlisted for this prestigious award is recognition of all the hard work and commitment by the council and its partners to deliver i9 as part of our innovative approach to regeneration in the City of Wolverhampton.
"i10 and i9 have raised the bar for the provision of top-grade office space in the city and the Council is now looking at ways to develop more so we can further expand our commercial district and create more opportunities for investors and jobs for our residents."
The i9 is also the first office building in the Black Country to be awarded WiredScore Gold certification in recognition of its digital connectivity and infrastructure and is BREEAM Excellent rated to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the building and lower any potential impact on the surrounding environment.
The Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership supported the development of i9, which is ideally placed to benefit from HS2, cutting journey times to London and elsewhere dramatically.
