Liverpool keeps building despite weak office market
LIVERPOOL Vision, the city’s economic development company, has published figures showing that £248m worth of construction projects were completed in the city-region last year and that 394,441 sq ft of commercial space was taken up.
The office take-up figure is a dramatic drop on 2009, when 721,189 sq ft was let. A lack of major lettings in the city centre office market meant that lettings stood at 207,515 sq ft, which was less than half of the prior year’s total of 519,274 sq ft.
Despite this, Liverpool Vision said that construction activity in the city remained resilient last year, with the transformation of Lime Street Gateway and the Kings Dock Mill scheme in the Baltic traingle two key projects that completed.
“The amount of new schemes completed and construction activity in the last year is encouraging,” said Liverpool Vision chief executive Max Steinberg.
“It follows a positive trend over the past decade and reinforces Liverpool’s reputation for delivery, despite the economic slowdown and sluggishness in the development sector.
He said that there were plenty of other major projects due to complete in 2011, including the latest phase of English Cities Fund’s St Paul’s
Place project, the new Museum of Liverpool and ongoing projects at both Central Village and the Liverpool Innovation Park.
