£50m office plan for city

Ben Rooth

September 18, 2009

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MANCHESTER received a £50m investment boost today as developers vowed to press ahead with their plan to create a major office and retailing landmark at the city's civic heart.

Developer Argent has formed a joint venture partnership with the Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund to rebuild Elisabeth House, in St Peter's Square.

A detailed planning application will be submitted to Manchester city council next month.

If it gets the go-ahead, the new building - to be renamed One St Peter's Square - will be 270,000sq ft - more than double the size of the existing 110,000sq ft premises, which formerly housed the Dutch Pancake Company.

The developers say it will feature an exhibition area and will enhance the proposed redevelopment of St Peter's Square, as well as the town hall extension and the refurbished Central Library.

Gary Taylor, joint managing director of Argent, said: "We've got an incredibly strong belief in One St Peter's Square which will be a contemporary building - inspired by its classical surroundings - sitting within Manchester's most important civic square.

"This development makes a lot of sense from a commercial perspective, given the city council's ambitious plans for the redevelopment of the square.

"The economic crisis has not troubled either Argent or the Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund, and we have the funding in place to ensure that this scheme goes ahead."

If planners give the scheme the go-ahead, it is expected to be completed by 2013.

London-based Argent is backed by the multi-billion pound BT pension fund.

The GMPVF is the property arm of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund which is the largest local authority pension fund in the country with assets worth £9bn.

The GMPVF and Argent will host a public consultation on Thursday, October 1, in the Central Library before submitting the plans.

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Rt Hon Dr Rev MC Spanner MP QC FCA FRICS JP OK (18/09/2009 at 10:04)

Greater Manchester funding an Argent Project.

Argent sitting on the Board of City Co

Argent support Leeses bid for the Con Charge......

Mark, South Manchester (18/09/2009 at 10:46)

With all this talk of the Royal Ballet & Opera wanting to set up base in Manchester, this is a huge missed opportunity for the city. The Odean cinema & Elisabeth House site, fronting onto St Peter's Square, would have made for the most perfect setting for a world class Manchester arts venue.

So a total lack of imagination and yet another missed opportunity for Manchester. This is no top European city!!

Almighty God, Salford (18/09/2009 at 11:12)

no more fancy glass buildings, they look horrible. why isn't there some kind of law demanding that new buildings in Manchester be in keeping with the old victorian brick buildings? At least the old buildings are unique and long lasting.

julen sanz ugarte (18/09/2009 at 15:04)

looks like a rather nice building, although very similar to the Mussolini fascist architecture of Italy in the 30s and 40s, couldn´t they design something graceful for that strategic city centre site?

julen
euskal herria. basque country

Larry.Cool, Manchester (18/09/2009 at 15:43)

Surely they could have used abit more imagination in designing that building!! I think modern architecture works in Manchester but should be done in a way that will grab peoples attention so should be abit quirky or designed in a way that will transform the area, that block could be in any city in the world....come on Manchester can do better, it would be great if we had modern buildings that could be envious of other cities, not just dot Manchester's centre with cheap looking boxes!!

David Artingstall (18/09/2009 at 16:10)

Sorry. Couldn't they have designed something a bit more impressive for such a significant square? The awful pillars at the front with the recessed shop fronts. Dreadful. Like the Pannone's buiding on Deansgate. Hope it doesn't get approval.

David Artingstall

Andanotherthing, Mcr (18/09/2009 at 16:12)

Oh, I see. The pedestrianised St Peter's Square will have an ugly great building like Piccadilli. Not a blade of grass in sight there, the tram would not be stopped by a leaf.

Another place not worth the visit. Thank heavens that Parsonage Gardens are to small for this butchery.

David Artingstall (18/09/2009 at 16:12)

What a poor looking building for such a prestigious square. Couldn't they have done something more impressive. Those dreadful pillars in front of the ground floor shops. Just like the frontage to the Pannone's building on Deansgate. Hope the design is thrown out.

Michael (18/09/2009 at 23:12)

Where is the flare and imagination in Manchester ? This is an eyesore . If it was in Liverpool or Leeds then this opportunity would be gabbed with both hands.

More soulless rubbish. I agree with the above comment...its should be a world class arts venue , not some rubbish not worth a second glance.

Chris , Davenport (19/09/2009 at 07:56)

A complete lack of imagination - which architectural catalogue did this come out of? Perhaps the developers should look further afield for their inspiration. This is one of the first arrival points in the city centre. The current buildings are actually better. Perhaps there should be a competition?

Mike Hall (19/09/2009 at 17:34)

Hardly inspirational is it?

Mark, South Manchester (21/09/2009 at 09:56)

It looks a bit like No 1 Piccadilly Gardens, only squatter and now in grey.
Off-the-shelf architecture, eh?

Proper Sentences (21/09/2009 at 10:24)

Laughable as 30% of the offices in the City are EMPTY so why make more empty office space.

Droylsden Blue, Droylsden (21/09/2009 at 10:40)

This was a real chance to make a statement and they present us with this . It's bland 1960's arcitecture at best , what happenend to the other design which was Modern colourful and Vibrant . If they want to make the square traffic which I think is a fantastic idea , then make it feel european . I really feel Manchester is falling behind cities like Leeds and Brum at the moment it's going backwards . The design is awful and should be thrown out at the stage .

Mark, South Manchester (21/09/2009 at 12:11)

I wonder if Prince Charles has got an opinion on this proposed carbuncle? Or does our future monarch only care about London?

MPs gravy train, UK (21/09/2009 at 12:31)

Somebody needs to visit Canary Wharf in London and see how they manage to incorporate grass and seating areas into public squares and buildings that surround the big towers there. It feels warm and inviting, modern yet classical. This just looks like a concrete block slapped onto a piece of land.

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