CLS Holdings
The sixth floor of Priory Place in Chelmsford, empty since Covid, finished to Cat A+ in six weeks and let shortly after.
Size
3,100 sq ft
Location
Chelmsford
Project Type
Cat A & Cat B Fit Out
Industry
Owner/ Operator
Challenge
CLS Holdings had the sixth floor of Priory Place in Chelmsford sitting empty since Covid, with very little serious interest from tenants.
Process
We took the floor through our 4D process, designing and building it to Cat A+ in six weeks, in a neutral palette, with the furniture rented through Fluid Ready to keep things simple and flexible.
Outcome
A floor a tenant could move straight into. CLS found one shortly after we handed it back.
Empty since COVID
The sixth floor of Priory Place, on New London Road in Chelmsford, had been vacant since the pandemic. For CLS Holdings, that was a real cost: a good floor was earning nothing, and viewings weren’t turning into offers.
Through Define, the first stage of our 4D process, we worked with CLS to understand what was getting in the way.
An empty floor asks a lot of a prospective tenant. They have to imagine where the desks would go, work out what meeting rooms might cost, and consider how long a fit-out would take. A finished, furnished space makes that decision easier. They can see how their team would use it and what they would be taking on.
Designed to attract tenants
CLS asked us to take the floor to Cat A+, finished and ready to occupy. We took on the full design, from space planning through to detailed technical drawings.
Most of our design work starts with the people who will use the space. Here, we didn’t know who they would be. The palette is intentionally neutral, allowing an incoming tenant to make it their own, with feature wall finishes that give the floor character without tying it to a particular brand.
Furniture by the square foot
The furniture was rented through Fluid Ready, priced per square foot. That gave CLS one rate for a fully furnished floor, with the flexibility to change the furniture as tenants’ needs evolved.
Desks, chairs and meeting tables were already in place for viewings. Prospective tenants could see how the office would work, without having to source furniture or fund a purchase alongside their deposit and move.
It shortened the gap between finding a suitable space and being able to work in it.
The Experience
Working in an occupied building
The six-week fit-out covered partitioning, joinery, flooring, lighting, power and data, HVAC, fire safety and a tea point.
The rest of Priory Place remained occupied throughout, with tenants on other floors, a shared core and working courtrooms on the lower levels. A hearing can’t pause for drilling, so noisy work had to be carefully scheduled around the building’s day.
Deliveries and materials were coordinated with the same care, and access through the shared core was managed so other tenants could come and go safely.
At handover, CLS had a finished, furnished 3,100 sq ft floor where there had been an empty one for years. A tenant took it shortly after completion. Our support continues through Zencare™, our ongoing aftercare programme.
Got a floor that isn’t letting? Talk to us, or see how we approached a similar brief at Kinney Green.
