One of its longest-standing office buildings in Birmingham's New Street is to get a fast-track face-lift.
The £1.25 million refurbishment by Hortons' Estate will transform the inside and outside of the White House, one of Birmingham's first steel and loadbearing concrete buildings when it was built in 1912.
One of the region's leading landlords and developers, Hortons' has awarded the contract to Worcesterbased Oakland Interiors and predicts that work will be completed by March.
The task includes top-to-bottom redecoration of the building's exterior and the addition of a new external architectural lighting scheme.
Inside, the major overhaul will include refurbishing all the common areas, including toilets, and the addition of new kitchens on each floor.
The refurbishment will also see the creation of 7732 sq ft of new office suites, ranging in size from 450 sq ft.
The newly-created space will be ready from the January 1, with rental prices starting at £17.50 per sq ft.
Negotiations are also under way with existing tenants to re-gear leases and possibly relocate them into new refurbished space within the building.
Nigel Foster, estate manager for Hortons', says: "This is one of the biggest refurbishment projects we have completed in the city centre for a number of years and, with office space running at a premium, this is an ideal time for us to be refurbishing the White House.
"The building has always been ahead of its time and this modernisation will mean that we can continue to meet the needs of our tenants."
Oaklands director Alex Tomlin says: "Oakland Interiors are proud to have been chosen as the preferred contractor to carry out the redevelopment and refurbishment of the White House.
"We will provide highquality workmanship to turn this building into a contemporary office building on behalf of Hortons'."
