Airport City ‘development-ready’ as bridge construction begins

Work has started on the “critical” piece of infrastructure designed to help unlock the speculative development of two 92,000 sq ft offices and the Hut Group’s campus at Airport City.

The cor-ten steel bridge, designed by architect 5plus, will be a key link between the existing airport and the future phases of Airport City, which along with the offices will also include a £180m “hotel district”.

It will also link directly to the airport’s transport interchange, terminals, and the wider Wythenshawe area via walking and cycling routes.

The bridge will help to unlock the Airport City site by providing a direct pedestrian route; the bridge lands between the two 92, 000 sq ft offices proposed at plots E2 and E3 of the wider masterplan.

Plans were put forward for these in September last year, and Manchester Airports Group has now said these are likely to be developed speculatively.

Under the most recent timeline put forward when plans were submitted, these offices are likely to be ready for occupation by 2021, subject to planning consent, and also feature ground floor spaces including co-working, cafes, restaurants, and gyms.

A multi-storey car park providing nearly 1,500 car parking spaces over eight storeys is also proposed on a neighbouring plot.

The bridge is due to complete in August 2020

BCEGI has now started work on the bridge and is carrying out a nine-month construction programme which will complete in August 2020.

It will also provide a link to The Hut Group’s 1m sq ft mega-campus at Airport City, along with the £180m hotel district, set to include 1,500 beds over four hotels – a Holiday Inn, an Ibis Budget, a Hampton By Hilton, and a Hilton Garden Inn. BCEGI has also been chosen as main contractor for the Holiday Inn and Ibis.

BCEGI is the appointed construction partner for Airport City and a member of the Airport City joint venture alongside Manchester Airports Group and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund,

Jonathan Haigh, managing director of MAG Property and Airport City JV partner, said: “Following the completion of Enterprise Way, the new bridge is the next critical piece of infrastructure that will become a catalyst for the delivery of the new £180 million hotel district, The Hut Group campus and approved speculative offices; delivering the Airport City Manchester vision, unlocking the potential for development and job creation across the entirety of the 73 acre site.”

Dongwen Yu, lead director, BCEGI, said: “We are delighted to be appointed as the main contractor to deliver the new bridge at Airport City Manchester.

“This project will deliver a landmark structure for the scheme – and it will help transform pedestrian and cyclist access to the site, and with other major infrastructure now in place, ensures the plots are truly ‘development-ready’ for prospective occupiers.

“We are proud of our role in helping bring Airport City Manchester as a construction and JV partner and we are confident that this is just the start of what a become a huge success story for the region.”