MSP to invest in new build innovation centre

THE first new build on Manchester Science Park for more than a decade is on track, with plans approved for a new 60,000 sq ft innovation centre.
 
The new facility, to be built on land currently used a car park, will be called Heart of the Park and will support collaboration between entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers and businesses, MSP said.
 
The building is the first stage in a major expansion plan that will see MSP triple its Corridor campus from 350,000 sq ft to one million sq ft of space by 2018.

Manchester Science Parks says the development has been sparked by a dramatic leap in demand from new businesses in the science and technology sectors.

The MSP portfolio is experiencing 95% occupancy with strong interest from existing customers looking to expand and from potential new customers.
 
Rowena Burns, chief executive of MSP said: “The key to success for the Corridor, for MSP and for Manchester lies in the power of the partnerships between our knowledge institutions, collaborations with healthcare providers and industry and the willingness of our public sector partners to reach out and become part of an economy which will be driven by open innovation.
 
“The creation of this new building is just another step on the MSP journey and will provide highly flexible space for technology and science businesses at every stage of their life cycle. Combined with our network of partners and our programme of solution-driven business support services, this new centre of excellence will provide a heart for MSP’s growing community of collaborative businesses but is also a ‘shot in the arm’ for the science economy in the North”
 
The ‘BREEAM-excellent’ design of the new-build will offer floor plates of 16,146 sq ft of workspace, each accessed via a central atrium as well as a provision on the ground floor for a café, a gym, meeting spaces, conferencing / networking spaces and restaurant facilities.

Manchester Science Parks is a venture between the Manchester’s universities, the city council and property developer Bruntwood.