Work has started on the first speculative development in Cambridge's northern R & D cluster in over a decade ahead of the opening of a new train station nearby and guided busway. VINCI Construction UK marked the start of work on the five-storey Maurice Wilkes building on St John’s Innovation Park with a ceremony this week. It is being developed by St John’s College and its partner Turnstone Cambridge Developments and is scheduled for completion by June 2018. The new office/ R& D building will provide 64,445 sq ft of Grade A space with suites from 6,454 sq ft and will feature a part-double height reception area and roof terrace. The building has secured a pre-let with cyber security specialist Dark Trace signing for the top two floors. Chris Goldsmith of Turnstone said: “Although we still have more than 12 months to go to completion the level of occupational interest is most encouraging.”
Separately, a flurry of deals at St John’s Innovation Park has seen Global Inkjet Systems expanding to larger premises on the park and agree a new five-year lease for 9,953 sq ft on the ground and first floor of Edinburgh House. Meanwhile, Collabora, an open source technology specialist, has agreed to a new six-year lease for 2,548 sq ft on part of the ground floor of The Platinum Building. William Clarke at Savills Cambridge – who let the space for St John’s College - said: “Providing straightforward expansion opportunities along with improved accessibility, following the opening of the new train station later this year, the park continues to attract businesses from across the spectrum whether they be start-ups or large international corporates.”
