Beetham makes home soil return with Liverpool towers
A joint venture between the Beetham Organisation and retailer TJ Morris has acquired King Edward Triangle industrial estate from Peel Waters to create a tall building cluster.
Hugh Frost, founder of Beetham, said he plans to deliver “a stunning mixed-use development worthy of our great city” on the Gibraltar Row site, which is earmarked for 1,200 homes under the Liverpool Waters masterplan.
“It’s a privilege and pleasure to be involved again on home soil in what is going to be a transformational project for Liverpool city centre,” he said.
“The site has outline planning consent as a neighbourhood of the Liverpool Waters masterplan, but our proposals will aim to be more ambitious, demonstrating what a well-planned tall building zone can really deliver.”
Frost is considered by some as a skyscraper pioneer and led the way for the development of tall buildings outside of London in the early part of the 21st century.
His Beetham Organisation is behind well-known towers in Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham – all designed by SimpsonHaugh Architects.
Liverpool’s tallest building, the 40-storey West Tower, was developed by Beetham and is located a stone’s throw from King Edward Triangle.
The site currently houses light industrial units. Credit: Peel
The acquisition of a site earmarked for towers in both the Liverpool Waters masterplan and the city council’s tall buildings framework presents Frost with the chance to go even higher this time around.
Last month, Liverpool City Council voted to lift a restrictive covenant at the industrial site, allowing Peel to progress the sale of the land. While speculation swirled around who would take on the plot, few would have predicted the return of Beetham, which has not been focussed on new developments for several years.
Tenants at King Edward Triangle raised concerns following that decision. Frost said that “every effort” would be made to help them relocate.
Peel, which has at times been criticised for what some onlookers view as a lack of progress at Liverpool Waters, also hailed the completion of the deal.
Chris Capes, director of development at Liverpool Waters, said: “Securing partners with such ambitions for this key site is fantastic news for Liverpool Waters and the city of Liverpool.
“The King Edward Triangle neighbourhood is a pivotal link between Liverpool Waters, the business district, and the city centre. Bringing in other developers and investors to work in partnership with us and accelerate the regeneration of Liverpool’s northern dockland has always been part of the strategy for the scheme.”
TJ Morris’s Dave Little, director at KEIE, added: “We believe this development will be transformational to our home city and is key to supporting our future economic growth.
“As a local company, we are proud to be playing our part in the regeneration of this area of the city. Key to our involvement is our partnership with Beetham, which has the right track record and the same desire as us to provide a landmark scheme for future generations.”
TJ Morris is active across the city delivering several developments including a student scheme in the Fabric District and an apartment block in Ropewalks.
Brabners acted for both TJ Morris and Peel Waters.
“Supporting on this deal is one we’re extremely proud of,” said Luke Taylor, partner at Brabners.
“It’s always pleasing to play our part enabling regeneration and supporting economic growth in the North, and across the country, and this project has the potential to be a gamechanger for the city of Liverpool and its skyline.
“We look forward to continuing to partner with the T J Morris and Beetham teams on this exciting scheme, to make the development a reality in the coming years.”
