Third bidder on Fire Station revealed
Henry Boot is the third developer to emerge as a potential buyer for the London Road Fire Station in Manchester.
The grade two-listed building next to Piccadilly Station was put on the market in April with a price tag of around ÂŁ10m.
London Road Fire Station has been the subject of controversy in Manchester for a number of years due to the property falling into a state of disrepair.
Henry Boot is currently working on the ÂŁ150m Kampus scheme in a joint venture with Capital & Centric, which is near to the fire station and will bring forward a mix of uses including hotels and residential.
The other companies on the shortlist are Allied London, which has retained Levitt Bernstein to draw up mixed-use plans to include studio living, workspace and hotel rooms, alongside Generation, the developer behind the redevelopment of the former MMU Hollings buildings.
Speaking to Place North West, Adam Brady, regional director of Henry Boot, said: “The fire station is a really cool building, one of the best in Manchester, and we would like to do something really special with it, given the opportunity.”
Alex Langsam’s company Britannia has owned the London Road Fire Station for 27 years. Britannia was granted planning permission to convert the fire station into a 227-bed hotel in 2010. Manchester City Council has twice proposed the use of compulsory purchase powers to acquire the site in 2011 and at the end of 2014 after Britannia failed to bring a development forward.
The station is being marketed by Christie & Co on behalf of Britannia. Second round offers were submitted at the end of July.
Christie & Co was unavailable to comment at the time of publication on the timescales of the sale.
