Halifax’ historic Princess Buildings office scheme well underway

The historic Princess Buildings in Halifax is currently undergoing a significant renovation.

The Grade II* listed building, which will be transformed into a new a modern office environment whilst preserving iconic heritage features, is being refurbished as part of Calderdale Council’s work to make better use of its offices in the town centre.

The goal is to save £7.6m by operating from fewer buildings, using modern technology and working in new ways to deliver services more efficiently and effectively.

Princess Buildings is the final of the three town centre offices to be refurbished. Halifax Customer First opened in November 2013 and the renovation of Westgate House was completed and occupied by staff from other sites in April 2014.

ISG started work on the site in January 2015, and the project is due to be completed by spring 2016, when staff will move in from a number of other sites.

The development’s next stage is to replace the 1960s extension, which was demolished at the start of the project. This new extension will blend into the original 1800s building more sufficiently, with materials and features that are sympathetic to its heritage.

In addition to removing the old extension, structural works, roof repairs, new guttering and refurbishment of existing facade windows will be taking place over the next several months.

ISG has gutted the buildings to unify floor levels, with a mechanical and electrical upgrade being undertaken to create modern, highly-efficient systems that will dramatically reduce running costs.

Furthermore, the Council is also working with Historic England to ensure the work is sensitive to the building’s listed status exterior, including the architecture, window frames, old banking safes, doors and the spectacular timber-lined staircase

Cllr Tim Swift, Calderdale Council’s Leader, said:“It’s really exciting to see the renovations at Princess Buildings taking shape. The end result will be a perfect blend of old and new. We are keen to preserve the fabulously quirky heritage features, but also bring the working environment right up to date. This is the final step in the transformation of our office buildings in Halifax town centre, and will go towards saving nearly £8 million. There will be a larger number of staff working more efficiently and effectively, and more staff in the town centre means increased spending in local shops. The project is also part of the wider regeneration work in the town.”

Danny Murray, ISG’s Northern regional managing director, added: “The Princess building redevelopment project involves temporary road closures and diversions and we have worked extremely closely with Calderdale Council and its officers to ensure that the changes to existing traffic routes are being undertaken as efficiently and effectively as possible to minimise impact on the area.”

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