Big revamp of city centre office block

A MAJOR refurbishment has started at 165,000sq ft building on Portland Street in Manchester, formerly known as Westminster House.

Aviva Investors, acting for Aviva Life & Pensions UK, has started the revamp at 11 Portland Street with Savills and Cushman & Wakefield appointed as joint letting agents.

The building occupies a prime city centre location and benefits from the excellent connectivity provided by the transport network within Piccadilly Gardens and at Piccadilly Station.
 
On completion, it will offer single floors of 20,000sq ft up to a total availability of about 100,000sq ft.

The works recently began on site and are due to complete in early 2017.
 
Plans include a new principal reception area which will be repositioned to the corner of Portland Street and Aytoun Street as well as the replacement of the entire glazing system to transform the external appearance of the building.
 
Internally, new cycle racks and showers will be added while upgraded office floors, common parts and new building services will be incorporated throughout.  The central courtyard will also be refurbished.

Julian Cobourne, asset manager at Aviva Investors, said: “11 Portland Street represents a fantastic refurbishment opportunity.
 
“We are committing significant capital expenditure which will transform the property and raise the standard of accommodation to provide an entirely different proposition for occupiers.
 
“The combination of large scale floor plates, a central location, access to numerous transport hubs and amenities will, we are sure, be well received by the market.”
 
James Evans, head of Savills Manchester, said: “Given the continued under supply of high quality refurbishments within Manchester city centre and consistent strong demand, we are confident this significant project will be extremely successful at attracting high quality occupiers.”

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