A presentation took place last week ahead of a special celebration to mark scaffolding being removed from the front of the building.
The work was commissioned by Hastings Commons, who bought the building and have ambitious plans for it to be a centre-piece in the local community.
Hastings Commons CEO Jess Steele said: “This is a radical retrofit of a building that has spent more than a third of its life derelict and we have been working hard to nurse the building back to life.”
A spokesperson for main contractors 8Build said: “It has been an incredible project. This is the closest contractors get to altruism.”
8Build, who took over the project in March 2021, have previously worked on prestigious renovation projects, such as The Royal Albert Hall.
Project director Nathan Palmer said: “Our biggest challenge was stopping water coming into the building. I remember seeing whole floors covered in buckets when we first took on the project.
"I am from Bexhill myself, so very much a local man and am pleased to say that this project has created jobs and helped people in the local community to develop their skills. Forty percent of the operators involved in the work have come from the Hastings and Eastbourne area and this will increase when we get to the roof stage.
“When the scaffolding came down, passers-by were stopping me to say how good it looks.”
Sarah Castle of the all female architects company IF-DO, said: “Our aim has been to reduce energy consumption and carbon levels in the way the building is run. The aim is to transform the building into social spaces that can benefit all.
"Parsons was very much at the centre of the local community and employed 500 people before closing in the 1980’s. The building had 13 different owners before Hastings Commons took it over in 2019.
"We aim to create a thriving community hub with work spaces, two floors of affordable housing, a roof garden and a community room.
"It has been a long process. Each tile in the facade had to be replaced one at a time, created by a specialist company in the north of England. This is very much a heritage project as well as a radical social project. The project has been revolutionary. It has been such a magic project to work on.”
Sarah Wigglesworth, from the team, has worked on major retro-fit projects in London. She said: “It has been a journey of learning as we go along, attempting to achieve perfection.”
Another member of the team, Rumi Bose, is an urban designer who has won numerous architectural awards.
More than half the building has been reopened so far for use as affordable workspace, venue space, a creative technology hub and Crossfit Gym. Work recently began on the roof which will be transformed into an accessible public roof terrace and bar by spring 2025.
It is hoped that by the following spring there will be 12 capped rent flats on the 2nd/3rd floors of the building for those in need of affordable housing.
Jess Steele said: “The design and planned uses of the building reflect conversations with hundreds of local people over the last decade about the challenges of gentrification that threaten the diversity and character of Hastings.”
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1. Observer building
The IF-DO architect team take to the stage to explain the process Photo: supplied
2. Observer building
Observer facade pre purchase in 2018 Photo: supplied
3. Observer building
Artist's impression of how the roof garden will look Photo: supplied
4. Observer building
Slide showing graffiti on the old Observer building Photo: supplied