Contractor sought for £15m Sensor City
IBI Group has been appointed by a joint venture between Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool as the architect for the £15m Sensor City incubator at Copperas Hill, while a search has been launched for a design-and-build contractor.
The Sensor City joint venture announced plans in December to develop the 25,000 sq ft facility which will ‘focus on creating, nurturing and establishing commercially viable hi-tech companies,’ according to tender documents.
The building is expected to house around 300 businesses within flexible laboratory and office space.
Development would occur over a two-stage design-and-build process, with construction starting in early 2016 and completing in 2017.
The construction contract is valued at between £6m and £8m.
The project was awarded a £5m grant last summer from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, as part of the Government’s creation of one of the first UK university enterprise zones in Liverpool.
Sensor City sits within the £80m Copperas Hill development area, which is being delivered by Liverpool John Moores University on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office near to Liverpool Lime Street.
A detailed masterplan for a 340,000 sq ft scheme designed by BDP is due to be submitted in the summer.
The deadline for receipt of tenders for Sensor City is 10 July 2015.
