Detailed preview of ‘unique and exciting’ Circle Square

Leading professionals in the property sector have been given the inside track on the “unique and exciting” new neighbourhood Circle Square – in the heart of Corridor Manchester, one of Europe’s key innovation districts.

Development surveyor Aisling McNulty from commercial property company Bruntwood detailed how the £750m scheme on the former BBC site in Oxford Road will be delivered in three phases within five years of its acquisition of the site in March, 2015.

She was speaking at a property lunch hosted by TheBusinessDesk.com and sponsored by law firm Freeths at the restaurant Grafene off King Street in Manchester.

McNulty told how, working with joint venture partner Select Property Group alongside master planners Plannit IE and architects Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios, the aim was to create “a place which would attract interesting and interested people from all types of backgrounds, ensuring that the rich and diverse nature of new businesses and people will complement those for which the area is already famous”.

“Manchester is a place where exciting things happen,” she said. “We believe that these things don’t happen by accident. They happen when there is a diverse mix of people coming together in the right place at the right time, to create something different.”

She outlined how the site includes more than 1 million sq ft of office space, 1,281 new homes and 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space for shops studios, bars and restaurants as well as a multi-storey car park and two hotels.

“Significant development work is already on site with a new addition to the city centre skyline rapidly taking shape,” she said. “I am pleased to say that the first phase of work, Selects’ Vita development, wich will comprise 604 high-quality student apartments, is on course for later this year .

“It is already 70% let. Designed by 5+ architects, the development will provide a rich mix of amenities that are constantly being innovated to respond to customer feedback.at circle square the amenity will include more study rooms, more private dining facilities, bikes and breakfast to go will be provided for the students.”

The scheme is all set amongst a public realm with more than a thousand plants and flowers, 180 semi-mature trees, and open, green space at the centre of the development  close to the size of four football pitches.

Works for the next phase of development will start on site later this year. It will include two commercial buildings totalling 400,000sq ft; two residential buildings providing 677 apartments; a second Vita student block; associated retail and leisure buildings; the multi-storey car park and hotel with 95% of the public realm also undertaken.

“All of this will be completed within six months of each other in late 2020 early 2021. This will see more than 60% of the development and 95% of the public realm delivered within five years of acquisition,” she said.

“And importantly for those living and working at Circle Square they will be in the centre of a completed site rather than a building site because of the speed and quantum of development being delivered at once.

“The residential element of circle square is being delivered by select property group, and will take the form of their successful affinity living product which is a living space that becomes a lifestyle, and will nurture growing urban communities.

“Split across two buildings, the amenity inside the spaces includes shared lounge areas, co-working spaces, supersized gyms and private entertaining areas.”

McNulty said the commercial buildings would provide sustainable office space designed with technology and wellbeing in mind.

Bruntwood will be working with Manchester Science Park and building on the research and findings with the City Verve project on smart building technology, offering users more control of their environment than ever before. Our focus is to try to identify future best practice rather than current so that our buildings are ready and enabled for the future.

“Wellbeing will be designed into the buildings and also the wider place,” she said. “Bruntwood recognises the importance of this and is responding to this in approach.

“Our buildings will be designed to help ourselves and our customers do better business together, and attract and retain the best and brightest colleagues.

“The spaces will be aspirational but designed around what our customer want. It is this insight which is shaping the product ‘We’ building within the space. An example of this would be the reception space – which will be designed to be open and engaging with the user, with integrated food and beverage provision, and break-out space above which leads through to our co-working and small suite product.”

McNulty said that because of the level of interest in the commercial buildings Bruntwood has decided to bring both buildings to the market and deliver them in one single phase.

No 2 Circle Square will measure 290,000sq ft over 12 floors with each floorplat up to 19,126sq ft.

No 1 Circle Square will total 208,000sq ft over 16 floors with a smaller footprint offer with floorplates up 9,516sq ft.

“One of the things we are excited about is the fact that we are bringing the tech hub to Circle Square. Following the award of £2m of Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS.

“Funding earlier this year, works are about to commence on refurbishing Manchester Technology centre which currently sits on the plot marked as phase three of the Circle Square  development.

“In February next year this will become the official home of the tech hub on the ground floor, while the upper floors will provide soft landing space for companies specialising in digital technology to grow, and our aim is they grow and expand in time for the first commercial buildings once they are finished.”

She added: “The overarching vision for Circle Square is to create a wonderful place where curiosity and opportunity combine to enable the extraordinary.”

The next property lunch hosted by TheBusinessDesk.com takes place at the same venue on Tuesday, July 18, where our guest speaker will be Sean Ford, associate in the transportation team at professional services and engineering consultancy WSP in Manchester.

The company, formerly WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, rebranded to WSP in May this year following the recent acquisition of Mouchel, and is now one of the largest engineering businesses in the city employing more than 900 staff across three offices.

WSP has provided services for a number of major schemes across the North West including the Transport for Greater Manchester consultancy framework and recently helped developer Renaker achieve planning permission for Manchester’s new tallest building; the planned 64-storey Owen Street skyscraper.

The Mouchel team also developed the “City Centre Cycling Infrastructure Plan” (CCCIP) for Manchester for TfGM.

With air quality high on the agenda of new Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, there are major ambitions to improve air quality through its published Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan.

Sean has a specialist interest in air quality, and will talk about how the property sector can play a key role in looking at both short-term and long-term solutions to address the issues.

He will outline the main causes of air pollution in the city, and ways in which businesses working in the built environment sector can look to tackle these – from introducing ‘green infrastructure’ and biodiversity to ‘green’ existing buildings, to changing our approach to development and infrastructure schemes with the aim of reducing car use in the city.

He will also talk about WSP’s specialist services which has seen them work with a range of public and private sector clients, including delivering Clear Air Zone frameworks across the UK, to improve air quality for those who live and work in our cities.

To book your place(s), click here