Touchdown spaces spur Stockport’s latest office offering

Stockport Exchange

Stockport is benefiting from a ‘flight to quality’ and a rise in demand for non-city centre ‘touchdown spaces’ as two new office schemes come to market this Summer.

Partners Stockport Council and Muse, have come together to release the latest phase of Stockport Exchange which is on track to complete construction in late Summer this year.

Across town, the Merseyway shopping centre is taking on a different character with a Merseyway Innovation Centre (MIC) which will see 15,000 sqft of vacant floorspace on the upper floors of Merseyway Shopping Centre transformed into flexible serviced office and co-working accommodation. 

The £145m Stockport Exchange, being delivered by Stockport Council and Muse, forms part of Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation’s £500m Town Centre West masterplan. The 130-acre site will deliver 4,000 high quality new homes, transport and infrastructure improvements, alongside spaces to work, socialise and spend time in.

This comes off the back of several recent announcements from the council, as a number of major projects including the Transport Interchange and Weir Mill reached key milestones, with work progressing at pace on site.

Stockport Exchange is now home to a wide variety of businesses from different sectors, including O’Neill Patient Solicitors, musicMagpie, Bask and its most recent addition Community Health and Eyecare (CHEC).

Opening Summer 2023, the Innovation Centre will transform the first floor of the former Next store and the adjacent former Metro Gym into a new hub for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs. At full capacity, the Innovation Centre has the potential to accommodate up to 50 new businesses on Merseyway.

The scheme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Government funds and Stockport Council. Support from the Arts Council England’s Cultural Development Fund will enhance the digital creative offer.

Cllr Colin MacAlister, Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration at Stockport Council, said: “We have a thriving business community in Stockport but this will strengthen our offer and provide that all important support for new and small businesses, providing everything they need for their business to grow and prosper.

“The improvements we are making to the wider Merseyway Shopping Centre will further enhance the area and the new Transport Interchange just across the road will make it even more accessible, allowing more people to take advantage of the fantastic facilities and all our town centre has to offer.”

Stockport based contractor TMT Commercial Contractors Limited are the appointed contractor for the Merseyway project. 

Tom Traynor at TMT Commercial Contracts said:” This is a hugely exciting opportunity for our company, it’s a privilege to be working with Stockport Council on this project. All three of our company directors are from Stockport so it is great to see the investment within the town centre, and to be able to play a small part in the improvements, coupled with the social value aspect of the project is allowing us to give back to our local community, which is something we are truly passionate about.”

The centre will complement the Council’s existing Stockport Business Innovation Centre in Broadstone Mill and Merchants House in the Market Place, and will be managed on behalf of the Council by Oxford Innovation Ltd.

 

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