Pace Investments is poised to submit plans for a £150m office scheme that it claims would be the most sustainable development in Cambridge.
The developer said it wanted the scheme, which would comprise 300,000 sq ft of workspace on a 2.8-acre site, to become the city’s first BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ office building.
The scheme at 104-112 Hills Road would run entirely on clean renewable energy and include features such as a recycling system for rainwater and wastewater, electrical charge points for every parking space and building materials that can be reused or repurposed for other future developments.
Pace plans to submit a planning application in May or June.
“We want 104-112 Hills Road to be the most sustainable office building in Cambridge,” said Jonathan Vincent, managing director of Pace. “We all need to go that extra mile to deliver sustainable outcomes and that drives our overriding vision for 104-112 Hills Road.”
Vincent said the company would also work to minimise embedded carbon in the development’s materials, which can account for as much as 70% of a building’s total emissions, according to UKGBC.
It is considering a range of options, including using less carbon-intensive materials, such as cross-laminated timber, and offsetting its carbon emissions through planting trees.
“My mission here is to effectively set a new standard,” said Vincent. “This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I hope it would be a legacy to leave behind.”
The development is next to Cambridge railway station and comprises seven parcels of land that Pace has spent more than 25 years acquiring.
The scheme was designed by architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris and will feature public spaces on the ground floor and facilities for electric bikes.
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