Commercial Property Development in the North West
This month we’ve been looking at recent commercial development projects in the North West of England. Commercial property investment in the North West has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with investment volumes for the first quarter of 2018 at a record high of £965m. This figure is more than double the £440m invested in the North West in the last quarter of 2017.
Enterprise City
Enterprise City is a 1.1m sq. ft. office-led scheme aimed at tech and media occupiers in Manchester City Centre. The aim of the scheme is to create an even greater transformative impact on the media landscape in Manchester and the whole of the UK. Enterprise City is the collective name for all commercial space included in the £1.35bn St John’s masterplan, on the site of the former Granada Studios. The site will eventually accommodate 560,000 sq. ft. of workspace for the creative industries, 240,000 sq. ft. of retail, 320 hotel rooms and 13 acres of public realm, as well as 2,500 homes.
Littlewoods Studios
Developer Capital & Centric has announced plans to convert the former Littlewoods building in Liverpool into a £50m filming complex, featuring two new 20,000 sq. ft. sound stages as well as workshops, wardrobe and prop storage and offices. The site has been vacant since the mid-1990s and was acquired by Capital & Centric in 2013. The studios are projected to be up and running in 2020.
Church Wharf
Bolton Council has announced plans to revive a major regeneration project in a neglected Church Wharf area of the town centre that was halted by the recession in 2008. At the time, consent was granted for 484,375 sq. ft. of commercial space, a 126-bed hotel and up to 720 flats. Now, the plans have been revived but dialled down. A formal application has not been submitted yet, but Muse, the development partner for Church Wharf, hopes to deliver a two-phase scheme comprising of at least 400 residential units, retail and public realm.
i9, Railway Drive
As part of a scheme approved by the City of Wolverhampton Council, Ion plans to develop the 50,000 sq. ft. i9 building on Railway Drive, next to the existing i10 office complex. The development will provide further grade A offices when it is completed in 2020.
I didn’t realise so much investment has been going on in the North West. It certainly seems to have jumped since 2017 as you pointed out.
Has it been primarily government led funding, or private do you know?