Ask mulls budget hotel and student flats for First Street

ASK Developments is planning a new tall building on the southern end of its huge First Street site that will contain a budget hotel, retail units, car parking and student accommodation.

Ask Developments director Ken Knott said that the 250,000 sq ft building would provide a “book end” at the south side of the 20-acre site which would drive traffic through the core of First Street.

“The aspiration is to develop a tall, elegantly designed mixed-use building with the intention of transforming the international gateway into the city centre – a city block that will define the arrival point,” said Knott.

Speaking at an event held by city centre management organisation Cityco yesterday, Knott revealed that the firm would attempt to build the structure by the end of autumn 2013, which would be just ahead of the completion date for the “Cultural Quarter” planned for the northern end of First Street. This consists of around 175,000 sq ft of buildings that will include the new £19m home for both the Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre company.

Ask received approval for the building as part of a planning development passed in November. Knott described the building as “an integrated anchor destination” and said it is “negotiating with end users who have expressed interest at a level that would make the development viable”.

Ask launched First Street at the MIPIM property event in Cannes in 2008  – originally as a £750m Grade A office scheme with a significant residential element. However, the subsequent downturn has meant it has only managed to construct one building on the site – the 180,000 sq ft Number One First Street office block, whose main letting to date has been a temporary deal with Manchester City Council.

“Put bluntly, despite the excitement of the launch in March 2008 by the time we got to the Christmas of that year it was patently undeliverable vision,” he said. “The key for us and our partners was to hold our nerve. First Street is a very special site in terms of its scale and its location.”

Once both ends of the site are complete, Ask plans to create new public realm which will create “a platform to attract commercial occupiers”.

Knott added that Ask still plans for the core of the site to be made up of office buildings,. He said that six office buildings each containing five or six storeys would be built which will be pitched at rental levels that are 20% cheaper than the city’s prime office core in a bid to attract businesses in from outside the centre.

Also speaking at the event were Argent’s David Partridge, who discussed plans for his firm’s One St Peter’s Square building and The Co-operative Group’s director of investment and property strategy, David Pringle.

Pringle said that the Co-operative was currently assessing seven proposals for the public realm element of its £800m new headquarters project and should announce the winner next month.