Downing Plaza is Newcastle city centre’s biggest office pre-let for several years. It emphasises the eventual impact the 95 hectare development will have on such a compact city. Newcastle University will locate its Business School there.

The Discovery Quarter is already transforming the city centre.  St James’ Boulevard, Terrace Hill’s Time Central and Hanro’s Citygate and Strawberry schemes have opened up the city and provided a range of much-needed office developments in prime sites.

The 47,600sqft Fusion office in Forth Street, by Buccleuch Property, will open up historic space, including a chapel, close to Central Station.  It will transform the area into contemporary office space in an increasingly popular area for businesses.

New hotels are being planned or built in the Discovery Quarter. These include a 169-room Sandman Signature hotel at the site of S&N Breweries’ 13-storey block, an upmarket Crowne Plaza at Silverlink’s Stephenson Quarter, an £8m Sleeperz at the arches behind Central Station and a four star, 10-suite boutique hotel at Friar House.

The Discovery Quarter will link Science City with another landmark building dedicated to life sciences, the International Centre for Life, at the gateway of the Discovery Quarter. 

The new office buildings along St James Boulevard continue to develop.  Brewin Dolphin, Muckle LLP and Science City offices are all now located within Terrace Hill’s Time Central.   

Wellbar Central, next to Time Central, is now well underway with completion expected in November 2009. It will provide 120,691sq.ft of office space over nine floors.

The size and importance of the Discovery Quarter is helping to maintain momentum and confidence in Newcastle during an economic downturn.

Tony Wordsworth is an office agency director at GVA Grimley