10 Storey Office Building Rising Up at John Street, Cardiff

Construction of a new 107,000 sq ft office building at John Street in central Cardiff has reached a key milestone with the completion of the ground floor ‘slab’, and the building is now ahead of programme.

A tower crane moved on to the site at Callaghan Square in Cardiff’s Central Business District before Christmas so work on constructing the office building’s 10 storeys can proceed.

Gareth Smart, construction director of independent development company JR Smart, which is speculatively developing the John Street site, said:

“The foundations are the works that can most often lead to delays and additional costs, so bringing the building out of the ground means we now have certainty on the remaining construction programme.”

The Grade A offices at John Street, one of Cardiff city centre’s few remaining prime office development sites, are set for completion by the 3rd quarter of 2021.

The development will provide high-specification offices for more than 1,100 people, with typical floor plates of 13,000 sq ft, and will include a coffee shop and tenant’s business lounge. The 3,500 sq ft roof-top terrace will provide tenants with spectacular views of the City Centre, Cardiff Bay and beyond.

Global property consultancy Knight Frank has been appointed as letting agents at John Street. Mark Sutton, partner in Knight Frank’s Cardiff office agency team, said:

“With a real scarcity of prime space in Cardiff city centre, and supply levels at an all-time low, the City and its occupiers desperately need new Grade A offices.  At John Street JR Smart are delivering superb city centre office space on Cardiff’s best development site – right when Cardiff needs it.”

JR Smart has already delivered and let 370,000 sq ft of offices at the adjacent seven-acre Capital Quarter. The development has attracted well-known local companies such as Admiral, WSP, Geldards, Optimum Credit and Public Health Wales, and new entrants to Cardiff including Opus Energy, Alert Logic, Sky and Which? Publishing. More than 3,000 people are employed at Capital Quarter, and more than 5,000 people will be based there.