Martins Bank building renovation plans revealed
New images of plans to refurbish Liverpool’s iconic Martins Bank headquarters have been released by property investor, Kinrise.
The site was acquired, for an undisclosed sum, by London-based hybrid workspace provider Kinrise in August last year.
Refurbishment works began earlier this month, with a 2024 reopening planned.
Formal plans, designed in consultation with Historic England and Liverpool City Council, have recently been submitted and new images of the building’s future interiors unveiled.
On completion, the historic Grade II-listed building will house community-focused spaces, food and beverage and 140,000 sq ft of sustainable Grade A offices.
Alongside beautifully designed workspaces unlike anything else in the city, says Kinrise, it plans to create welcoming, publicly accessible spaces within the spectacular former banking hall on the ground floor of the building.
Often described as the most ornate in the country thanks to its extravagant display of travertine and bronze, the central hall is now set to become a culturally engaging, multifaceted space, featuring a cafe and restaurant as well as meeting, co-working and event areas.
Working with architects Red Deer and Brock Carmichael, and pre-construction advisor Lendlease, Kinrise plans to retain and restore the building’s original features, maximising the abundance of natural light that flows into the building, while employing its signature ESG-centric refurbishment principals to remodel Martins as a fully carbon-neutral building.
As part of Kinrise’s vision to return the space to public access and create an engaging hub for the city, a community manager has already been appointed to oversee the implementation of cultural events.
Employed across all of its buildings, the Kinrise cultural, health, and impact programme is designed to inspire tenants to connect and grow through events, food, art, music and community engagement.
Kinrise has already kick-started this programme, utilising the vacant space within the building to host community initiatives ahead of the commencement of main refurbishment works in early 2023.
Most recently, Kinrise partnered with Paul Askew’s Art School restaurant, Liverpool BID, Bordeaux Wine Council and Liverpool Commonwealth Association to host ‘Taste Liverpool, drink Bordeaux’ in the building.
The food and drink festival brought together the city’s best chefs and restaurateurs, with Martins welcoming more than 1,500 members of the public during the course of the four-day event.
Proposals for former main banking hall
Board room facilities
Office space
Gym facilities
Sam Lawson Johnston, co-founder of Kinrise, said: “We want to play a long term role in the renewal of Liverpool and hope our renovation of Martins will act as a catalyst for change within the district.
“In a time where Liverpool’s heritage status has come under international scrutiny, we hope Martins will kick-start landlords of other important buildings to begin high quality renovations of their own, avoiding further demolitions in the city, with their associated environmental damage, and keeping the great character and history of Liverpool alive.”
He added: “We are excited to see our plans for the building come to fruition and we hope its renovation and the return of public access will leave a meaningful legacy for the city for future generations.”
The 207,000 sq ft Martins Bank building joins Kinrise’s existing portfolio of 10 buildings across Leeds, Manchester, London and Birmingham.
