Morgan Capital adds 27,000 sq ft at Manchester office
Prompted by strong demand for Grade A office space in the city centre and the resolution of legal issues limiting height, the developer has applied to add two extra floors to its New Victoria workspace scheme.
The two additional floors, taking the office block from 10 to 12 storeys, will see an additional 27,000 sq ft of gross internal floorspace added to the proposals.
By increasing the size of its scheme, Morgan Capital and Toriview hope to take advantage of a lack of new-build Grade A space in Manchester.
A planning statement prepared by Deloitte says that the supply of Grade A space in Manchester fell by 8% to 834,000 sq ft at the end of Q3 2022, prompting a need for more.
In addition to attracting more tenants, the development team says expanding the project will have a positive impact on how it looks.
Piercy & Company, the architect for the project, claim the additional floors make for a more “elegant and well-proportioned scheme”.
Vinci Construction, which built Muse’s 520-home New Victoria build-to-rent scheme for PIC next door, has drafted a construction management plan for the scheme that suggests above-ground work on the office could begin in the final quarter of this year.
The 12-storey scheme is four floors taller than the original office proposal for the site, developed by Muse and designed by Sheppard Robson.
Morgan Capital bought the office plot from Muse for £60m in 2021 on behalf of Toriview, a private family office, and set about redesigning the scheme to make it more sustainable and to cater for changing occupier demands.
Chroma is the project manager for the scheme and the project team also features Hollis, Sweco, AJP, Gardiner & Theobald, SCP, RLB, Ball and Berry, Fulcro, RBMP, Rachel Hacking Ecology and KM Heritage.
Looks dreadful compared to the previous scheme
By Anonymous
Great looking scheme. Much needed as well, especially with the news of big let’s for BNY Mellon and JP Morgan coming.
By Bob
I walk past the Lincoln everyday to work in a building 10% let. Where is this strong demand?
By Cal
Higher the better covers the grey flats behind.
By Anonymous
Shame it wasn’t more storeys in the first place
By Giant Skyscraper Fan
It sort of complements the Hanover building, on the other side. I don’t dislike this.
By Elephant
Good to know there is such strong demand for grade A office space in Manchester. This building works well within its surroundings.
By Anonymous
This looks like a brilliant design. It blends in very well with existing buildings.
By Anonymous
I love the colour, texture and shape of this proposal and it blends in well with surrounding architecture, it has presence/gravitas, a welcome change from the any town/any country, glass and steel structures being built with minimal imagination……ps. I’d love to see more brick & stone new developments in the City Centre. I was walking around Manc’s CBD the other day. There’s a vast new residential building with a floral coloured exterior at the beginning of Oldham Rd. on the left hand side. The scale, colour & design is absolutely magnificent. For a moment, I thought I was back in St. Petersburg.
By Bilderburg Attendee
Well-mannered and elegant. Shades of the architectural practice’s excellent Turnmills scheme in London. A very welcome change to much recent building in the city.
By SW