500,000 square foot of office space to be built on Manchester’s…
The Manchester City Council-owned Central Retail Park has now had planning brought forward for 500,000 square foot of office space in close proximity to Manchester Piccadilly, Ancoats and the Northern Quarter.
Originally used as a retail space, the plot was bought in 2017 and earmarked as the site of a new high-density residential scheme. The original plans showed this would accommodate up to 1,500 new homes in the area to meet the significant demand for city centre properties.
The updated framework now shows that the site will instead be used for office space catering for telecommunications, media and technology sectors.
Framework planners, Deloitte, said: “These new types of office spaces encourage agile and collaborative working, creating spaces that aim to contribute to the well-being of the workforce.
“Existing stock tends to be ‘characterful’ because it is old and raw with limited facilities – the former Central Retail Park presents the best opportunity to work up a model which attracts this sector into new purpose-built spaces close to the workforce talent it needs. It is anticipated that in excess of 500,000 sq. ft. of this type of space could be accommodated on this site, and initial market advice supports this assessment.”
Whilst office space is the immediate priority for the development site, further down the line the site may become mixed-use with housing, leisure and retail becoming part of the scheme.
This comes after the announcement of a major regeneration project to the Mayfield site behind Piccadilly Station. Expected to take 10 years to complete, the £1.1bn redevelopment project will feature new commercial and retail space, hotel accommodation and over 1,350 homes for residents in the area.
The centrepiece of the development, situated on the banks of the River Medlock, will be a 6.5-acre communal park. This will be the city’s first new green space in over a century and promises to become a hub for its residents and a key Manchester destination.
For residents in our Oxygen development, the addition of this new office space will be a great opportunity to make the most of these additional career prospects in the area. At less than 5- minutes’ walk away from the new office space development and just 10 minutes’ walk from the Mayfield regeneration project, Oxygen residents will be able to easily access their place of work, as well as being able to enjoy all of the retail, leisure and entertainment opportunities Manchester has to offer. With each apartment finished to a high-standard as well as having premium features such as an onsite gym, swimming pool and spa, Oxygen presents a luxury living space with comfort and convenience at its core.
