Central Spine
Location: Manchester city centre
Size: 1.75m sq ft
End Value: £800m
Development Partner: Manchester City Council
Team Member: Stephen Cliff
Commercial
This 20-acre scheme will extend the heart of Manchester city – and become a new international gateway to the city centre.
The first phase is the former BT building at Grand Island, which will be refurbished and a further three floors added, including a green rooftop garden, to create 175,000 sq ft of Grade A office space with an investment value of £35m.
The scheme will be accessible by bus, tram and train and will nestle alongside a rich mix of bars, restaurants and retail outlets.
It will include the complete re-modelling of 15 acres of public land, creating more than 12 fully-serviced development ‘plots’ – totalling 2.5m sq ft of mixed-use floor space - and two stunning public squares, one which will adjoin the BT building and the other which will anchor the new quarter at its southern end close to the Mancunian Way.
Also planned is a dramatic new water-feature based leisure and retail playground, opening up the arches on Whitworth Street West and creating a new city street running from south to north along the viaduct.
This mix of commercial, residential, retail, amenity and leisure uses will combine to create a distinctive sense of place and vibrancy on weekends, weekdays and evenings.