Work has begun on the redevelopment of a historic building, with help from a £600,000 loan from the Growing Places Fund. The maltings building on Princes Street in Ipswich is planned to be transformed into 23,000 sq ft of industrial-style offices.
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Growing Places Fund provides loan funding to help kick start and support development projects across Suffolk and Norfolk.
The £3million project will see the semi-derelict Grade II listed building, which has been empty for 10 years, converted into offices.
The developers are Pertwee Estates, a family business based in Essex. Director, Mark Pertwee, said “It’s a very sensitive restoration that will enhance the building’s historic features through the clever use of modern materials and construction of an atrium which will bring in lots of natural light. The first thing to happen will be to strip out the building, which will take a couple of months, and then the work to restore the fabric of the building will begin.”
Chris Starkie, chief executive of New Anglia LEP, said: “We’re pleased to be supporting this development project in Ipswich town centre, one of the priority places identified in the new Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk.
“We hope that it will become a hub for innovative and exciting digital businesses, bringing new jobs to the town. It will be the latest in a number of exciting projects to begin in Ipswich, helping to bring the aspirations of the Ipswich Vision to life, and we look forward to seeing it take shape.”
