Green light for redevelopment of city’s King’s House site

Redevelopment work has been given the go-ahead on a central Manchester site earmarked as a vibrant mixed-use community.

Bruntwood Works aims to start work on King’s House in King Street West, having received planning approval to blend heritage and character with high quality workspace and amenity.

The developer said the historic 38,000 sq ft site will create a blueprint for the redevelopment of heritage buildings in the city, showcasing how modern workplace trends, technology and sustainability can be adapted and embedded while maintaining the character and uniqueness of the property.

Home to San Carlo and Koreana, King’s House is located within the St Mary’s Parsonage regeneration area.

It will be one of the first office buildings to be delivered within the regeneration area, giving a first glimpse of the potential of the site and its importance to the city centre as a vibrant business district.

The wider scheme has been designed to create a new neighbourhood that will bring together innovative businesses and community spaces.

It will also form a cluster with two of Bruntwood Works’ iconic Pioneer workspaces, part of the £200m programme which is creating vibrant, community and future-focused workspaces centred on six key pillars: Biophilia, art, sustainability, wellness, amenity and technology.

These include Blackfriars House and The Alberton building, which Bruntwood Works is set to start redeveloping into a globally-leading workspace in the coming months. Together, they will offer customers a dynamic and innovative workspace and amenity cluster, with access to its wider community of customers.

The plans for King’s House include a new guest arrival experience on the ground floor, a dynamic blend of collaborative and traditional workspaces, as well as a communal lounge, breakout spaces and wellness amenities including cycle storage and showers, high quality changing areas and a multi-faith room. The smaller workspaces will also be offered as fully-fitted, managed suites.

Creativity, sustainability and technology are at the heart of the designs, seamlessly integrating with the original character of the building and providing an inspiring workspace for forward-thinking businesses.

CGI of new reception area

Andrew Butterworth, commercial director at Bruntwood Works, said: “The planning approval at King’s House marks an exciting stage in the evolution of the building and will form an important part of the wider St Mary’s Parsonage regeneration project, which will create a vibrant new mixed-use community in the heart of the city.

“We have a long standing commitment to investing in heritage assets within the city to create modern, forward-thinking workspaces with technology, sustainability and high quality amenities at their heart. Once complete, it will become part of our wider cluster of workspaces, with customers benefiting from access to our amenities and collaborative community across the city.”

Work is due to begin in February 2023, with completion expected by December 2023.