In the heart of Newcastle’s Stephenson Quarter, Founders Place is a mixed-use neighbourhood, located on the south side of the city’s central railway station.
Originally the location of the workshops and site offices of Robert Stephenson & Company, the first company in the world created specifically to build locomotive steam engines, Founders Place has been named to honour the engineering pioneers whose work put Newcastle firmly on the world’s stage. Now, this crucible of innovation and industry will offer new and restored workspaces for today’s forward-looking businesses.
Building on the rich legacy of innovation on the site, Newcastle City Council in partnership with igloo Regeneration and Thriving Investments (part of the Places for People group) are developing a new mixed used quarter within the historic city core. Founders Place is designed with well-being at the core. It’s not just a place to work, relax, or live, but a seamless blend of all three.
The site includes the iconic Pattern Shop building, a Grade II listed building with a remarkable industrial heritage, restored into an eco-friendly, sustainable commercial centre which contains new facilities yet retains its character thanks to some of the building’s original windows and floorboards being preserved as visible nods to its incredible heritage. One of the UK’s leading fintech companies, Atom Bank, has recently moved into Pattern Shop.
Following this success, a new sustainable office development – One Founders Place – will provide 100,000sq ft of architecturally stunning office space, acting as the gateway development to the site. One Founders Place is poised to become Newcastle’s next flagship office destination, setting a new standard for work-life integration and environmental responsibility. Designed by RIBA Stirling Prize winning architectural practice, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, the building will blend the industrial heritage with climate positive, sustainable and modern design methods.
Commercial occupiers are being sought to anchor the development of One Founders Place through a pre-let agreement, and there are other pockets of opportunity across the site.
Size: 10 acres
Gross development value: £137m
Ownership: Founders Place LLP (Newcastle City Council, igloo Regeneration, Thriving Investments).
Uses: Commercial, Residential
Status: Successful completion of the Pattern Shop restoration and early stages for the rest of the scheme.
Opportunity: Commercial occupiers sought for One Founders Place.
