T EC H
Room with a view - Boho X offices will
overlook the Transporter Bridge.
WE CAN BE
THE TECH
TOWN
M
iddlesbrough Council has
unveiled the latest artist’s
impressions of Boho X, a
digital skyscraper mayor
Andy Preston confidently predicts will
be the best office space within 100
miles.
Planning permission was submitted in
late February for the £30m tech tower
– with pre-Covid-19 plans for building
work to start in August for completion
in 2022.
Preston admits those plans will
inevitably now be delayed, with
everyone’s focus on the coronavirus
outbreak and its impact on business and
everyday life.
But he insists it will happen.
Along with private investment in two
neighbouring residential skyscrapers,
Boho X will be part of a £45m first
phase of a £250m digital development
on land between Middlesbrough railway
station and the Transporter Bridge.
At 260ft, the tallest office building
between Leeds and Glasgow, Boho X
will be built on land close to where the
original Middlesbrough Farm once stood
before the growth of the town as a 19th-
century Ironopolis.
Speaking before the Covid-19 crisis,
mayor Preston said the initial £45m
project would represent the biggest
single investment in the town’s history.
He unveiled new artist’s impressions
of a building that could eventually be
40 | Tees Business
Digital dream - an artist's impression of
Middlesbrough Council's Boho X (left) alongside
two privately-funded residential skyscrapers.
Mayor reveals how Boho X
can help make Middlesbrough
the UK’s digital city
the workplace for up to 1,000 people.
“Boho X will be a stunning digital
skyscraper,” he said. “You will see it
from miles around, it’s going to stand
out from wherever you are on Teesside.
“It’s going to be an expression of our
towering ambition.”
Asked what makes Boho X special, he
replied: “It’s going to have exceptional
facilities, like nothing within 100 miles of
here.
“Some of the offices will have big
roof terraces with incredible views. For
any true Teessider, it will offer the best
views in the world, looking down on the
Transporter Bridge and you’ll be able
to see the Cleveland Hills, Roseberry
Topping and the coastline.”
He promised offices of “all sizes”,
saying: “We want huge companies, of
course – a big national firm might want
a big office – but smaller offices for
three to five people will be available for
start-ups or larger firms who want to
open a subsidiary office, and there’ll be
hot-desking and co-working space too.
Whatever you want, this building can
offer it.
“If your ambition is big enough, this is
the place for you.”
Just a minute’s walk from
Middlesbrough railway station, which will
soon have direct links to London, it is
planned for Boho X to feature
> High-quality gym
> Attractive café
> 20-seat cinema
> 200-seat lecture theatre
> 750-seat events space
And Preston insisted a careful eye
had been kept on ensuring the offices
remained affordable despite being what
he believed to be “better than anything
Newcastle or Leeds could offer”.
“In Newcastle, great office space
like this would be £28 per sq ft,” he
said. “In Leeds, it’s more like £38 per
sq ft. In Boho X, we’re offering unique
central Middlesbrough office space
from just £18 per sq ft, so it’s incredibly
affordable.
“I believe it will represent the north’s
very best office space – at a fraction of
the cost of similar space in Newcastle or
Leeds.”
While urging interested firms to get
in touch, the mayor has also revealed
the names of the first organisations to
commit to taking space in Boho X –
Middlesbrough College, Northern Stable
(sister business of local digital giant
Visualsoft), Logic Architecture and law
firm the Endeavour Partnership.
He added: “This isn’t a dream. It’s
happening now. Thanks mainly to
funding from Tees Valley mayor Ben
Houchen and the combined authority,
the money is now in the bank for a
world-class digital building.
“We really can make Middlesbrough
the digital city, attracting and creating
highly-paid creative jobs.”