1 – 7 Bedford Street was constructed in 1973 as a five storey precast concrete office building on a two-storey plinth of marble and tinted glass. The building was initially known as Griffin House, later renamed to Causeway House.

Causeway House was placed on the market by agents Hamilton Osborne King in January 2001 as a result of Northern Bank relocated staff to another building. The building was marketed as a six-storey 64,000ft2 office building suitable for major refurbishment or rebuild. The guide price was £5.5m.

The building was purchased during 2001 and a planning application (Z/2001/2879/F) was submitted in November 2001 by D.A Creighton Ltd and Knox & Clayton Architects proposing “alterations and extension to existing building including replacement of facade”. The application was approved in February 2002.

Extensive redevelopment of the building began in October 2001. The work involved the stripping back of the original façade to expose the original concrete frame and recladding the building in reconstituted brick and stone. The redevelopment works also included the addition of two additional floors and a rooftop mezzanine level. Works were completed in late 2002. Following completion of the redevelopment work the building was renamed Causeway Exchange. JBE Building Services were awarded a £1.5m contract to fit-out all ten floors of the building for the IDB and DOE. The work was completed in 14 weeks.

The Department of Culture, Arts & Leisure relocated from the Interpoint Building on York Street to Causeway Exchange in April 2009. The remainder of the building is also occupied by government departments, including the Department of the Environment.

The NI Executive purchased the building in April 2015 for £12.5m. The Executive also purchased four other building, including Seatem House, Laganside House, Clare House and 2 – 4 Bruce Street.