Pop-up bars and festivals for Granada site
ALLIED London has started to promote the former ITV Granada site as a “media and arts quarter” that could be home to pop-up shops, bars and live music.
The developer, which is developing the adjacent Spinningfields area, acquired the 13-acre site for £26.5m in September through a joint venture with Manchester City Council called Manchester Quays Ltd (MQL).
Now its website describes the “old Granada Studios” as, “an exciting estate with acres of vacant studios, warehouse, spectacular buildings with the opportunity for all to be involved”.
The site has outline consent for 1.2m sq ft of offices, 200,000 sq ft of retail, 895 homes and a 575-space car park, but in the meantime it is being pitching as an unconventional space for events, music videos and fashion shoots.
Allied London’s website states: “Are you selling fashion or food? Are you a media creative, filming a music video or high fashion shoot? Our vacant spaces are available for you. Do you host events? Concerts, gigs, festivals, corporate conferences? We host them for you. Indoor, outdoor we offer you a venue for any occasion.”
It adds: “Our long term plan we envisage a mixed-use development, one focused very much on creating a new living quarter, there is a great opportunity to develop new buildings whilst retaining some of the existing and creating a real area in the city where people can establish themselves and sustain a really exciting community.”
Manchester City Council did not put any capital into the deal to buy the site, but it did contribute a £2.4m plot it bought earlier last year from Allied London – the old warehouse next to the Marriott Victoria & Albert hotel. The council originally wanted the site because of its strategic waterfront location connecting Spinningfields with the Granada site.
