A NEW city centre office building housed in the a Royal Mail sorting office has announced its first tenant, months before it is due to open.

The building in Mill Street, Newport, is currently being completely refurbished into quality office space by owners Garrison Barclay and is set to open in the second quarter of 2020.

The building has planning permission for 50,000 sq ft of ‘grade A’ office space, with 84 parking spaces.

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The former Royal Mail office in Mill Street, Newport, which has been sold to a Cardiff developer which hopes to convert it into office space. Picture: DBPR

Work and Meet has been named as the first tenants. The business, which is based in Cardiff, provides co-working and flexible office space.

And a spokesman for Garrison Barclay said: "We are also about to go under offer with another two occupiers."

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How the former Royal Mail building in Mill Street, Newport, could look when work is completed. It is set to open in the second quarter of next year

The building is currently under scaffolding and new windows are being installed.

The spokesman said: "People will start to notice the building looking very different over the next couple of months."

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Designs for the new offices planned in place of the former Royal Mail sorting office in Newport: Picture credit: Rio Architects

Troika Construction, which is based in Cardiff, is carrying out the work to transform the building on Mill Street, after its success working on Chartist Tower in the city, which is also being redeveloped by Garrison Barclay.

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How the inside of the building will look

The new office spaces will offer a spacious layout with high ceilings, natural light and a quirky design.

The site has already received a huge amount of interest from prospective tenants. The modern and flexible office space has attracted a range of businesses from legal firms to a London-based cyber security company.

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How the inside of the building will look

Along with this, the building is ideally located next to Newport Train Station.

The building was formerly home to Newport-based Industrial Automation and Control Ltd, which moved to new premises at Queensway Meadows a number of years ago.

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Another artist's impression of how the building will look

The South Wales Argus has taken office space in the Garrison Barclay development at Chartist Tower.

A spokesman for Garrison Barclay said: "The South Wales Argus is a local institution so we’re thrilled to attract them as tenants. It’s extremely positive to see a business that has been situated outside of the city centre for so long, come back into the city now that there is a good quality offering of office space.

"We have up to 14,000 sq ft remaining and can split this space from 3,500 sq ft."

The main space at Chartist Tower will be a 158-bed Mercure hotel, which is due to open in the spring.