A new flagship building, which is destined to become a beacon of optimism and economic hope, is rapidly rising in the East End of Glasgow as the striking Spectrum House takes centre stage in the city’s former industrial heartlands.
The dramatic centrepiece of the project, which will bring an unprecedented number of new jobs to the previously blighted district, is the anchor point for growing development spurred by the forward-looking strategy of ambitious local property investor and developer Spectrum Properties.
The company, which operates throughout Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirlingshire, has poured nearly £20 million into the re-imagining and regeneration of Dalmarnock and has been instrumental in recreating it as a desirable and upcoming area in which to live and work.
Later this month, ground floor units in Spectrum House will be offered onto the market for rental, with half of the commercial units already marked for occupation. Five remaining units, up to 1196 sq ft in size, are now also available.
Bill Roddie, chief executive of family-owned Spectrum Properties, and who was born and raised in the city’s East End, said: “We have been a key element in bringing the East End back to life, having rescued and re-purposed a number of outstanding architectural buildings which remained from the area’s Victorian heyday.
“It has been a long road to obtain the necessary permissions to realise our ambitions for the Dalmarnock area and it is very heartening to see them start to come to fruition and begin to catalyse new economic activity and development.
“Good progress is also being made on the CubeHQ co-working space, which will feature hot desks and private offices, as well as our new barista-style coffee shop. We expect an opening date within the next few months.”
The project is introducing innovative thinking and construction techniques to reduce carbon footprint, such as employing modular buildings which were originally used as high-specification offices at the London Olympics in 2012 and subsequently at the construction of the Queensferry Crossing.
Spectrum House is a radically-designed construction of modular sections with a striking industrial aesthetic, including a light-filled glass atrium. It will serve as Spectrum Properties’ new HQ, as well as a business centre.
The character-altering project, which has been years in the planning, is bounded by French Street, Dora Street, Norman Street and the A728 and is expected to bring an unprecedented number of new jobs to the area.
The Spectrum House masterplan frees up the company’s former HQ in the Strathclyde Business Centre, Carstairs Street, where it is seeking consents for conversion to 106 residential units in the building and on the surrounding ground.
The planned development comes on the heels of another Spectrum project which saw the A-listed Tollcross House, built in 1849 and known as a jewel of the East End, transformed into 13 rental apartments in a “detailed and sympathetic refurbishment”.
The company also restored the home of shipping magnate and philanthropist Sir William Burrell in an Alexander “Greek” Thomson terrace in Great Western Road in Glasgow, creating four duplex homes.
