University buys ex-American Express office space

The University of Brighton has purchased the four-storey office block that was previously inhabited by American Express.

The site was vacated by the financial company back in March, leaving the commercial property space empty for a number of months.

Now, it looks like the university is going to step in to bring the building back to life. It has made an application to convert the site into a centre for its arts faculty as part of the university's overall strategy to develop a campus around the Grand Parade.

The refurbishment, which is expected to cost millions of pounds, would see the building converted into teaching rooms and offices capable of accommodating up to 800 students and 130 members of staff.

Lewis and Co Planning, a Brighton-based company that is set to oversee the planning process, has said that around 3,600 sq m of office space will be lost in the conversion, something that the council is usually unwilling to allow, but the council appears to have made an exception in this case, according to reports from The Argus.

Tony Mernagh, the executive director of Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, commented: “Although as a general rule the partnership resists the loss of employment space in the city, in this instance it would support the application for change of use.

“The net loss is very small and must be balanced against the benefits of bringing a long vacant commercial space back into employment use.”

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