One St Peter’s Square plans given approval

Manchester City Council's planning committee has given the green light on the redevelopment of Elisabeth House into a new 270,000 sq ft office building, to be known as One St Peter's Square.

The scheme is a joint venture between Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund, which owns the site, and developer Argent and aims to build a new 14-storey building, which is being designed by Glenn Howells Architects.

Mike Whitley, chair of GMPVF, said: "We are extremely pleased to have received planning approval for One St Peter's Square. We have always had great confidence in the plans for the development and the finished result will be a striking 21st century building in the heart of the city centre."

James Nicholson, development director at Argent, said: "This is an exciting decision for Manchester; One St Peter's Square is a highly significant new commercial development that has been designed to complement its civic surroundings. Now that One St Peter's Square has the seal of approval, we can continue to work alongside the city council and other landowners to transform the current site into an unparalleled piece of public realm in this significant and historic part of the city. In the coming months we will move forward with the appointment of a contractor for the project and will be actively marketing the building to potential occupiers, who are looking for large floor plates within the central business district."

Chris Cheap, director at GVA Grimley and leasing consultant to the joint venture partnership, added: "One St Peter's Square will be a world class office building which will help to continue the Manchester success story and ensure the city has sufficient quality of product in terms of design and specification to promote itself on a regional, national and international level. We have been delighted with the initial feedback from both indigenous companies and those looking to relocate to the city and we believe we will see pre-construction commitment within the near future."

The building has a BREEAM 'excellent' rating and will incorporate office floorplates of up to 22,500 sq ft. The scheme will include a mix of uses at ground floor level, with space for public exhibitions, as well as a new reception, offering panoramic views across the proposed redeveloped St Peter's Square, refurbished Central Library and Town Hall extension.

The team at One St Peter's Square includes building services consultant Hoare Lea and structural engineers Tier. GVA Grimley and Savills are joint agents for the scheme.