New science park gets under way
Suzanne Lovell
4,000 new jobs could be created at the new £90 million science and technology park, where work gets under way.
The Thames Valley Property article reports: "Oxford Technology Park is part of a rapidly growing science community around Kidlington, to the north of the city, along with the University of Oxford’s Begbroke Science Park. The park is owned by Hill Street Holdings.
The park has planning permission for 440,000 sq ft of Grade A offices and hi-tech buildings on a 21.5-acre site capable of providing laboratory, R&D, workshops and clean rooms bespoke to occupiers’ requirements. The first buildings are expected to be ready for occupation during 2018.
Angus Bates, director of Hill Street Holdings said: “This is a much needed purpose built technology park for Oxford.”
The Park is being marketed by Bidwells and Benedicts. David Williams, partner at Bidwells, agents for the project said: “It is good news for Oxford’s science and technology businesses to have a new purpose-designed campus of this scale on the city’s doorstep.”
“The level of demand really speaks for itself. Research by Bidwells shows that first-quarter take-up in the tech sector hit 310,000 sq ft, of deals completed and under offer.
“This activity has resulted in prime office rents in the Oxford area growing by 21.7 per cent since the end of 2014 to a record high of £28 per sq ft – twice the average growth of IPD ‘all office rents’ which have grown 10.8 per cent during the same period.”
Watch a flythrough of Oxford Technology Park here.
Article source: Thames Valley Property No 73 (tvproperty.co.uk)
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