First Street development gets signed off

THE final development agreement for the First Street gateway project has been signed by Manchester City Council and Ask Property Developments.

The 20 acre site on the southern edge of the city will link Manchester’s central business district with the Oxford Road Corridor.

Public sector investment will see the creation of public space, including the 160m long First Street, which will stretch from Whitworth Street to Hulme Street on the southern edge of the site. It will be the first major new pedestrianised street in the city for decades.

Number One First Street is the first major office building in the scheme, comprising 180,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.

It was completed earlier this year and will be the temporary home for Manchester City Council staff, while the town hall is refurbished. Council staff currently based in the Town Hall extension will be based at Number One until 2013.

John Hughes, director at Ask Developments, said: “We’re delighted that the First Street development agreement has been approved. We have worked hard with the city council to create the platform for this strategic site.

“This area has endured a lack of identity and purpose in recent years, which has resulted from its failure to integrate and connect in a physical and economic sense with the rest of the city centre and the Oxford Road Corridor.

“We are confident that First Street will now start to fulfil its potential and make its contribution to enhancing the city’s competitive position.”

Work on the public realm will start in December 2009, with completion in early May 2010.