Business hub opens in Baltic Triangle
THE pilot phase of a business hub dedicated to bringing investment in the Baltic area of Liverpool city centre has been completed.
The first new studios and offices have been created in an area which will also contain the site’s centre management offices. The development has been funded by North West Regional Development Agency and European Regional Development Fund money.
It will be run by a new Baltic Creative Community Interest Company – a not-for-profit venture which is now set to bring forward the next phase of the project.
It is set to refurbish further buildings on the site and eventually hopes to create a new incubation/creative campus, which should start on site next year before completion in April 2012.
Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, Liverpool City Council’s executive member for regeneration, said: “The creative, digital and IT sectors employ around 25,000 people in the Liverpool city-region and generate millions for the region’s economy. I feel Liverpool’s future is creative and digital and we want a place in the city centre where people can spark off each other and collaborate.
“We need to support businesses that are going to grow and bring money and jobs into the city and having a dedicated business hub for the creative industries in the heart of the city will encourage that .”
Baltic Triangle has long been mooted as an ideal destination for a creative district in the city and has already seen the arrival of developments such as the Contemporary Urban Centre, Elevator Studios, Liverpool Biennial, The Picket and the A Foundation in recent years.
Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, said: “Liverpool Vision has a great interest in the Baltic Triangle and is one of the key stakeholders in the area – working closely with established and new businesses.
“For me, it has the same atmosphere as New York’s meat packing district or Hoxton in London and it is important to maintain and increase this vibrancy.”
Mark Lawler, Baltic Creative Centre manager, said: “This is a significant milestone for us. It means that we now have the space for more creative businesses to move in and allows us to build on the excellent work that has already been done.
“Over the past five years Baltic’s character has started to change significantly. Existing tenants are varied and have brought a wide range of creative and digital expertise to area including significant support from Merseyside ACME.
“A lot of credit has to be given to these businesses for promoting this area as a vibrant creative cluster and footfall has increased because of their energy.
