Solent: Market interest set to peak as new building topped out at University of Southampton Science Park

The University of Southampton Science Park held a series of events last week to officially launch its latest building known as 5 Benham Campus. 

Prospective and current tenants and representatives from local authorities, as well as the design and build team, were in attendance at the ‘topping out’ celebration of the highly-anticipated new office accommodation.

The new building has been devised for creative, collaborative working and will be set over three floors to include a range of meeting rooms, break-out spaces, a coffee shop and roof terrace. 5 Benham Campus is fully equipped with smart, environmentally-friendly technologies including a state-of-the-art biometric security system and superfast 1Gbps broadband.

CEO of Southampton Science Park, Peter Birkett, commented: “This new building is a vital addition to our already-successful Science Park and it will be an important boost to the local economy, both during and post-construction. The incremental space that this building creates, when combined with our proactive approach to business support and well-established business community, will enable us to fuel the ambitions of many more early-stage and growing hi-tech businesses.”

Mark Vincent of contractor Amiri Construction added: “We are delighted to be involved in this prestigious project, not least because of the Science Park’s commitment to local suppliers. 5 Benham Campus is a very high quality building and the fact that a number of Hampshire-based businesses are at the very heart of its design and build demonstrates the priority given by the Science Park to helping local businesses and the regional economy prosper.”

Commercial property specialist Vail Williams is marketing the 30,600 sq ft, Grade A building. Philip Holmes, head of business space in the Solent region, said: “A premises of such high quality is going to attract a lot of attention on the market. It’s a huge opportunity for businesses to secure a prestigious base with state-of-the-art facilities. We’re advising companies to get in touch now to avoid missing out.”

The design and build team comprises TKL Architects of Otterbourne; Bishops Waltham-based Rushby Brewster Associates; and Peach Maclean of Winchester. Overall cost and project management is provided by Fareham-based Currie & Brown.