Work begins on major city scheme
CONSTRUCTION work has started on a 400,000 sq ft investment in Manchester’s future as the UK’s second city of tech.
Manchester-based developer Bruntwood has broken ground on the first two commercial buildings at its landmark £750m Circle Square project, on Oxford Road.
Breaking ground comes as the Future Cities Catapult releases its latest update on the world’s 21 fastest-growing smart cities, grouping Manchester with New York, Berlin and Sao Paulo as places to watch.
Produced with the support of Arup, the review provides city leaders with an analysis of what leading cities are doing to create smart city strategies that are suited to their needs and how they are structuring themselves to deliver these strategies within difficult, complex environments.
Standing at 14 storeys and 17 storeys tall respectively, the Circle Square buildings will provide a combined total of 400,000 sq ft of space for progressive businesses across a range of sectors, including digital and technology. Completion is due for 2020.
The buildings form phase one of the planned 1.2m sq ft commercial offering at the new city centre neighbourhood.
Manchester’s office market is confronting a looming supply shortage thanks to rapid take-up of floorspace by the tech sector.
Data from Savills shows that just 579,900 sq ft is under construction, of which 246,000 sq ft – or 42 per cent – is already pre-let.
Manchester Office Agents Forum research, which shows take-up exceeding 448,000 sq ft in the last quarter, suggests the new supply will quickly be absorbed.
Savills argue that Manchester is already the UK’s second city of tech.
According to the TechNation 2017 analysis, the city’s tech sector produces £2.8bn a year, and employs 63,000 people in the digital sector alone.
Bradley Topps, head of transactions and asset management, Bruntwood, said of the latest development: “The new workspaces will be ideally located for customers looking to access the world class academic research and development facilities located on the doorstep and, all just a few minutes’ walk from the city’s key transport links and commercial district.”