Maxim Office Park, the UK’s largest speculative office scheme which was built by Bowmer & Kirkland, has won the RICS Scottish Regeneration Project of the Year Award.

In less than two years, the £130m development has transformed a former redundant industrial wasteland on the M8 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. A key regeneration project, Maxim Park is built on the site of the former Chunghwa Picture Tubes factory which promised thousands of jobs but in reality only produced 600 and they were lost when the factory closed in 2002.

This was the firm's largest project to date and was finished ahead of time and to budget. Comprising 10 high specification individual office buildings with a total net area of 735,592 sq ft and 19,764 sq ft of additional retail space, the buildings are set in a parkland landscape with five water features, fountains, waterfalls, a running track, event spaces and even a PGA accredited nine-hole putting green.

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With the potential to create 8,000 jobs, the development has not only transformed the immediate area, it is also offering a completely different work/life balance for members of its community. People working at Maxim Park are being encouraged to interact with car sharing plans, team building events, inter-office football matches, guitar and language classes all focused on creating an integrated social community.

All the buildings are rated BREEAM ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very Good’ and environmentally-friendly features of the development include a Sustainable Urban Drainage System, recycling of rainwater from roofs, a comprehensive green transport plan, building materials locally sourced where possible, 240m long “Brise Soleil” to south elevations and dedicated recycling areas.

Karen Campbell, Chief Executive of Maxim Office Park said: “This RICS award underlines the quality of the building design at Maxim and the contribution the development is making to the regeneration of Lanarkshire. We now look to build on our current momentum and attract more tenants to Maxim, which will bring more jobs into the local area.

“Maxim is a unique proposition given its size, quality and strategic location. It offers a great platform to attract investment into Scotland and also provides an ideal base for indigenous business to enhance both the local Lanarkshire and wider Scottish economies.”

(GK)