Life sciences giant Kadans eyes Manchester campus
The Dutch firm is in talks with McLaren Property to develop and operate an office and lab complex within the Oxford Road Corridor, according to market sources.
Kadans Science Partner and McLaren are understood to be working with architect Sheppard Robson on proposals for a 230,000 sq ft campus on Upper Brook Street.
The company operates more than 40 buildings across 25 campuses in the Netherlands and the UK, offering life sciences and technical laboratory accommodation for a variety of occupiers.
In London, Kadans and Canary Wharf Group recently lodged plans for 823,000 sq ft of life sciences accommodation within a 23-storey tower.
Kadans’ Manchester plans would mark the company’s first foray into the North. So far, the firm’s UK sites are limited to the capital and Cambridge.
In Manchester, Kadans’ Upper Brook Street campus development forms part of a £200m masterplan being led by McLaren that also features plans for around 600 student bedrooms, to be managed by Student Roost.
Site assembly for the masterplan began several years ago when Logik Developments, working in partnership with McLaren, acquired the former Citroen dealership.
The site is located close to the University of Manchester and Bruntwood’s Manchester Science Park, another life sciences hub.
The area is subject to an existing Manchester City Council regeneration framework comprising land around Upper Brook Street, the former Elizabeth Gaskell Campus, Willmott Street, and Birchall Way.
The framework establishes a vision to bring forward the 11-acre Upper Brook Street zone as an “employment-led destination” over the next 10 to 15 years.
McLaren and Kadans were contacted for comment.
