Prupim to redevelop Brazennose House
A PLANNING application has just been submitted to redevelop Brazennose House in Manchester.
Prupim, which owns the city’s Arndale centre, is planning to demolish the existing building on Brazennose Street and build a new 150,000 sq ft Grade A office building overlooking Lincoln Square.
The building would also contain 3,600 sq ft of retail and 4,800 sq ft of restaurant space on the ground floor, and will provide a better link between the city’s existing central business district and Allied London’s Spinningfields scheme.
The redevelopment will also allow for a new public square to be created in front of the “Hidden Gem” – the St Mary’s Church building – by cutting back the current footprint of Brazennose House.
The redevelopment has been on the cards for some time and the scheme was recently one of a number of locations bidding to deliver KPMG’s new 85,000 sq ft Manchester base. However, it is no longer in the running for that particular project.
Prupim is delivering the project on behalf of the building’s owner, The Prudential Assurance Company. Drivers Jonas Deloitte has submitted the planning application following consultation work with St Mary’s Church and local businesses carried out by GL Hearn.
William Rooke, development manager at PRUPIM, said: “This site provides yet another jigsaw piece in support of the City’s regeneration strategy and inward investment objectives.
“The influx of some 1,250 new employees in the redeveloped Brazennose House will have a hugely positive regenerative effect on this important commercial area; the area is now looking tired and has, to a certain extent, evolved predominantly into a through-route.
“As well as meeting the next wave of demand for prime office space and headquarters for corporate occupiers in the city centre, this area will be reinvigorated by much-needed improvements to the public realm of Lincoln Square and with the new piazza.
“We want to create a destination for business, fitting for the scheme’s prime city centre location.”
The application is set to be heard by Manchester City Council in the autumn. If approved, demolition could begin next spring ahead of building work completing by summer 2014.
