LONDON-Hines is using its $855 million European Development Fund II to build a new speculative office here. The 67,000-square-foot building at 280 High Holborn is going up on the former Chichester House site, opposite MidCity Place.
Even though there have been a handful of other office projects announced in the city, Hines project director Alexander Knapp tells me that the Midtown market is currently experiencing constrained supply conditions, due to the stop in new development during the bottom of the recession.
“This has led most forecasters to project rising rents through 2014,” he tells me. “In addition, there is expected to be a rise in 'structural' demand as an unusual number of long leases will expire between 2013 and 2015. It is expected that many of these tenants will seek new accommodation at that time.”
The High Holborn building, which will have 9,000-square-foot floor plates, should be complete by 2012. Hines has hired Jones Lang LaSalle and DTZ as leasing agents for the new building.
Hines also is building Cannon Place in the city, and recently finished One Grafton St. The fund was formed in February 2007 to develop new or redevelop Class A office buildings in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
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