MIPIM | Sciontec doubles up Hemisphere to meet Liverpool labs demand
With deals for space within the 115,000 sq ft Hemisphere One at an advanced stage, the developer has announced plans for a second, larger building, taking the total across the two Liverpool blocks to 350,000 sq ft.
Speaking at MIPIM, Sciontec – the consortium behind Paddington Village in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter – has unveiled plans for Hemisphere Two, a 135,000 sq ft lab and office building.
The decision to create a second phase of the Hemisphere development is designed to meet the growing demand for laboratory space in the city and region.
Hemisphere Two will be constructed next to Hemisphere One, which was awarded £13m of gap funding from government recently.
Meanwhile, Sciontec has already reportedly reached outline agreements with a number of Investment Zone-funded projects, which could take Hemisphere One to 66% occupancy prior to work starting on site next year.
The Centre of Excellence for Long-Acting Therapeutics (CELT), a cross-faculty research initiative by University of Liverpool, targeting clinical needs not currently addressable using conventional medicines, is lined up to take 44,421 sq ft of laboratory space across the top three floors of Hemisphere One.
The building will also be home to Civic Health Innovation Zone (CHI-Zone), which could occupy 16,211 sq ft of innovative workspace, and National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC), which is poised to move into 14,807 sq ft of laboratory space.
Mark Power, chair of Sciontec and vice-chancellor at Liverpool John Moores University, said: “With existing lab facilities at Liverpool Science Park already at capacity and Hemisphere One now significantly pre-let, we have a robust platform to move forward confidently with plans for Hemisphere Two and create even more places for pioneers to thrive in the heart of the city region.”
Much of Paddington Village has already been delivered. Credit: via Sciontec
Hemisphere Two will feature open access laboratories on its ground floor, chemistry labs, and has also been identified as a potential location for the new Pandemic Preparedness and Response Laboratories.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has hit the ground running since being awarded investment zone status last year and chose to formally launch the grand plan at MIPIM.
The city region has pulled together a pipeline of projects across the six boroughs aimed at positioning it as a leader in life sciences.
They include:
- A mental health digital research centre at Mersey Care’s 100-acre Maghull Health Park
- St Helens Manufacturing and Innovation Campus – a £500m project that will redevelop land formerly used by the glass industry to expand the area’s manufacturing and innovation capabilities.
- High-containment labs fitted with robotics and AI technology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
- A 750,000 sq ft expansion of Sci-Tech Daresbury in Halton.
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said: “With up to £800m of investment and thousands of quality, high skilled jobs on offer, the Liverpool City Region Innovation Zone is an important tool in our arsenal to position our area at the head of UK science and innovation.
“In the Liverpool City Region, we’re proud to do things differently. Throughout the development of our Innovation Zone, I have been clear that any investment in our area must go further than purely financial incentives. I want to use our status as a force for good, to connect our residents up to secure, well-paid jobs and training opportunities, and attract transformational investment into our communities.”
Sciontec – the spin out development company of KQ Liverpool that is jointly owned by Bruntwood SciTech, Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Liverpool, and Liverpool City Council, expects work on Hemisphere to commence in spring 2025.
Hemisphere One could complete by early 2027, followed by Hemisphere Two.
CBRE and Knight Frank are the retained commercial agents for the buildings.
Place North West MIPIM 2024 coverage is sponsored by Together. Visit Place North’s MIPIM hub to find the latest news from Cannes.
Wonderful news for the City Region , meanwhile Steve Rotheram comments but fails to add that he intends to improve public transport round there with either a train station or a proper tram system, in the same way he dithers over the Everton stadium and the airport.
He doesn’t seem to have the transport ambitions that these great game changing projects deserve.
By Anonymous
Excellent News
By L17
All good stuff and very encouraging news for Life Sciences in the LCR. I can see much more developments in the future.
By Liverpolitis
Anonymous – why do you need the tram system to the Everton stadium when you have an excellent train network with stations located close by already?
By Why
This is brilliant news, all the stops need to be pulled out for this to come to fruition. Think they should bin off the residential and use it for more space. LCC etc need to think of the surrounding area for possible expansion.
By GetItBuilt!
Anonymous 3:12pm clearly doesn’t live in Liverpool, otherwise he’d know that the Everton stadium is a short stroll from Sandhills Station on the Northern Line. He’d also know it’s a 20 minute walk from Moorfields underground station on Old Hall St. There’s your reason why the mayor isn’t bothering himself with a tram for a venue that will generate excess demand on maybe 30 times in a year.
By Buyer Beware
Sort of proves the point, build it and they will come.
There has been a shortage of good quality lab space in Liverpool for a while now.With this expansion and promises of the KQ growing even more it all points to a strong and important sector establishing itself in the LCR.
By Liverpool4Progress
Just need to add 10,000 apartments -preferably high rise – to the surrounding area and you can create a proper destination to work and live
By Stuart wood
Paddington Village would benefit from a station on the Merseyrail network – preferably by reviving the Edge Hill Spur project using the disused Victoria Tunnel beneath the site. There has been a huge amount of development in that area over the past decade.
Takes about 15 minutes to walk from Sandhills to Bramley Moore Dock – I know I’ve tried it. Maybe a southern entrance to the station coupled with improved pedestrian crossings would improve things but it would probably be cheaper to relocate the Everton stadium to Sandhills than build a special Merseyrail branch to the dock – only for use on match days.
By Martin S
A tram is required at Paddington Village as a rail station is probably going to be too costly. As regards the Everton Stadium another station is required at Vauxhall as it won’t just cater for football but the growing population around there, as well as rock concerts.
By Caveat Emptor