Mace joins Town Hall project team

Mace has been appointed project manager for the £330m Our Town Hall renovation scheme, which aims to fully repair and upgrade Manchester’s Town Hall and Albert Square.

Last month a design team made up of Purcell, Ramboll, Planit-IE, Arup, and Faithful + Gould were appointed to advise the council on the scheme.

The grade one-listed Manchester Town Hall will be 140 years old this year. Details of the restoration and refurbishment are yet to be defined, but aim to retain and enhance the building as a functioning town hall, while also reducing carbon footprint and energy costs, and maximising commercial opportunities, potentially by releasing part of the building for offices.

The target date for the completion of any refurbishment, with the building fully re-occupied and functional, is 2023.

The next stage will be to appoint main contractors.

Mace has previously worked with Manchester City Council, having project managed the transformation of Manchester Central Library and the Town Hall extension, which completed in 2015.  The firm is currently working to deliver a number of projects in Manchester, including the Alliance Manchester Business School for the University of Manchester and the UK’s first Proton Beam Therapy Centre, for the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Steve Gillingham, Mace’s director of the North, said: “Mace’s history is inextricably linked to Manchester; it was the first office we opened outside of London, and where we first cut our teeth on internationally significant project management for the Commonwealth Games in 2002.  Our experience and record in the North is a key part of Mace’s DNA.

“As a result, we’re very pleased to have been awarded a role on this vital project to protect, restore and upgrade such a significant symbol of Manchester’s civic history. Working on schemes like this is always challenging, particularly given how closely everyone will be watching, but we’re up to the challenge and looking forward to getting stuck in.”