Bristol’s largest office development for a decade is to be built at Temple Quay following planning approval from the city council.
The 210,000 sq ft 4 Glass Wharf showpiece building, pictured, will be linked by a bridge to neighbouring 3 Glass Wharf, which is now under construction. 
London-based property developer Salmon Harvester received planning permission for seven-storey 4 Glass Wharf building this week.
It said it had already received interest from potential occupiers – a reflection of the severe shortage of premium office space in the city.
4 Glass Wharf will be built on a vacant 1.3-acre site between the Floating Harbour and Anvil Street within the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.
3 Glass Wharf – just over half its size at 107,000 sq ft – has been pre-let to HMRC. It scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
2 Glass Wharf, a 101,000 sq ft office building let to accountancy firms PwC and Grant Thornton, global building consultancy group Arcadis Group and law firm Foot Anstey, is now full apart from a 10,000 sq ft ground floor retail unit.
Bristol’s city centre office market has grown strongly over the past four years to the point where supply is at a 20-year low with only one new office building – the 95,000 sq ft Aurora scheme at Finzels Reach – under construction. That is already 40% pre-let with agents expecting it to be fully let by the time it is complete later this year.
Salmon development director Rorie Henderson said: “The development of 4 Glass Wharf will bring our development programme on offices in Bristol to over 400,000 sq ft in the last five years.
“This latest phase will be Bristol’s biggest new office development in the last decade and at a time when there is virtually no new Grade A office supply in the city centre. We already have strong interest from potential occupiers and have been shortlisted by an occupier and are very excited by the prospect of delivering this building.
“When we committed to develop 2 Glass Wharf Grade A headline rents were £27 per sq ft and now the city is achieving over £32.50 with investors keen on purchasing quality offices.”
Last week Bristol Business News revealed that property experts in the city are predicting prime office rents will reach a record £35 per sq ft as demand continues to outstrip supply and much-needed speculative developments stay on the drawing board.
Simon Price, of Bristol-based letting agent Alder King, said: “It is of great significance to Bristol where there are currently concerns that the lack of office supply will result in the loss of potential relocations and existing occupiers to other regional centres.”
