IN Brief:
- Spectrum Properties says half its ground-floor commercial units are marked for occupation.
- Spectrum House incorporates former London 2012 Olympic office modules subsequently used at the Queensferry Crossing.
- The wider Dalmarnock regeneration programme represents almost £20m of investment, not a single-building contract.
Spectrum Properties is preparing new commercial accommodation for occupation at Spectrum House in Glasgow’s Dalmarnock, a business centre assembled from reused modular office buildings. The company says half the ground-floor units have been earmarked for occupation, while five remain available to rent. The current stage concerns lettings and interior completion rather than a newly announced construction start.
The development stands within an East End regeneration area bounded by French Street, Dora Street, Norman Street and the A728. Spectrum House is intended to accommodate the property company’s headquarters and additional businesses, with remaining ground-floor units of up to 1,196 sq ft. Leasing and fit-out will determine when individual spaces are ready for use; units earmarked for tenants are not necessarily already occupied.
The building incorporates modular sections that previously served as offices at the London 2012 Olympics and were reused during construction of the Queensferry Crossing. Their deployment in Dalmarnock gives existing building components a third application rather than commissioning wholly new office modules. Spectrum identifies the approach as a way to reduce construction impacts, although it has not released a measured embodied carbon comparison.
Reusing modules imposes practical design constraints. Their existing dimensions, structural connections, floor levels and openings shape the new arrangement, while transportation and reassembly require planning for lifting, supporting foundations and weather protection. Building services also have to be adapted to the final occupier configuration and current requirements; neither the volume of replacement materials nor the detailed connection strategy has been disclosed.
Spectrum House places the retained modules around a glazed atrium, combining flexible commercial space with a central circulation area. Jewitt & Wilkie Architects is identified with the design in current architecture coverage. The atrium supplies daylight and a common interior focus, while the reused office sections provide the surrounding accommodation within an industrial-style building suited to the former manufacturing district.
Spectrum Properties says it has invested nearly £20m across its Dalmarnock regeneration programme. That is an area-wide amount rather than the construction value of Spectrum House itself. Earlier work includes refurbishment of historic buildings and new commercial premises, with the modular headquarters serving as a centrepiece of a broader development extending beyond its immediate footprint.
At ground level, the company reports that half the units have been marked for occupation and five are still being marketed. Their maximum quoted size of 1,196 sq ft suggests accommodation aimed at individual commercial occupiers rather than the entire floors being taken by one business. No list of confirmed tenants, tenant improvement works or dates for first occupation has been supplied.
The CubeHQ coworking space is being fitted out for hot desks and private offices, alongside a planned coffee shop. Bill Roddie, chief executive of Spectrum Properties, said the facilities were progressing and that he expected an opening within the next few months. The company has not given a precise date, so the space should be described as being prepared for use rather than already operating.
Different lettable spaces will impose different requirements for power, data connections, ventilation and tenant access. The primary modular layout establishes a framework for later partitions and service distribution, but each occupancy arrangement must still be compatible with the available floor area and building permissions. No separate construction contracts have been announced for the individual tenant fit-outs.
The wider regeneration programme has included conversion of Tollcross House into 13 rental flats and restoration of Sir William Burrell’s former Glasgow home to provide four duplex dwellings. These completed properties demonstrate Spectrum’s broader redevelopment activity but are not part of the Spectrum House building programme. The company’s October update gives no new construction milestone for either earlier project.
Another element of the wider plans is a proposed redevelopment providing 106 homes of Spectrum’s former headquarters at Strathclyde Business Centre on Carstairs Street. Earlier project reporting described full planning consent for the residential proposal, while the October company statement refers to seeking consents. Without a verified current planning decision or details of any revised application, the two accounts do not establish a new change of permission.
The residential redevelopment is separate from the commercial modular building. Conversion of former offices to housing would require its own detailed design, fire safety strategy and service distribution, but the current update gives no construction start or timetable for that scheme. It should therefore not be counted as part of Spectrum House’s lettable space or its immediate occupation programme.
Spectrum House’s next disclosed milestones are the letting of the remaining ground-floor units and the proposed opening of CubeHQ and the café. The construction work brings previously used office modules into the new Dalmarnock development, while commercial occupation will depend on completing the premises and individual tenant arrangements over the coming months.
