Green light for Bruntwood SciTech’s £87m Circle Square office
The 264,000 sq ft block is designed by Bridge Architects and forms the latest phase of the tech campus on Manchester’s Oxford Road.
Manchester City Council has approved Bruntwood SciTech’s £87m No3 Circle Square, located on the corner of Brancaster Road and Princess Street.
Bruntwood SciTech, the joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General, had previously won planning consent for an office building on the same plot in 2020.
However, in May this year, the developer lodged revised proposals for a 15-storey block designed by Bridge.
Bruntwood SciTech is aiming for net zero embodied carbon during construction, BREEAM “excellent status”, a NABERS 5-star rating and an EPC A rating once operational.
Feilden Clegg Bradley, which drew up the masterplan for Circle Square, designed the earlier iteration of the building.
Bruntwood SciTech will be hoping that occupier appetite for No3 Circle Square is as high as it was for the first 500,000 sq ft of workspace in No1 and No2.
Those buildings are fully let following deals with Roku, which took more than 100,000 sq ft, Octopus Energy, Hilti, Autocab and Hewlett Packard, among others.
Bradley Topps, commercial director at Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Circle Square has already proven to be a truly transformative scheme for Manchester city centre; further bolstering the Oxford Road Corridor’s reputation as a home for thriving tech businesses, attracting inward investment and strengthening the city’s knowledge economy.
“With No1 and No2 already fully occupied, the approval of No3 enables us to fully realise the Circle Square masterplan. With work set to commence early next year, we anticipate high interest in the scheme as more UK and international businesses look to benefit from the innovation ecosystem Circle Square provides access to.”
Bruntwood SciTech hopes to complete the building by December 2024.
What a superb looking building. I love what they’re doing at Circle Square
By CJ
But I thought offices were not needed anymore? It’s almost as if the professional developers don’t come on here and read some of the comments.
By Anonymous
CJ, completely agree. Good developers.
By Simon
One of the better buildings but this area is an absolute failure. A lot of the structures are devoid of any merit whilst the public realm is often in darkness.
By 1981
An opinion 1981. Though also devoid of any merit.
By Anonymous
Circle Square a failure. 1981 you are having a laugh! Commercially it has been a complete success hence this building now being brought forward.
By Anonymous
I agree with 1981 about the public realm. It is dismal and nothing like the original pictures.
By Elephant
1981, you’re on your own I’m afraid! Circle Square is clearly a successful development, despite its ridiculous name (which will no doubt be changed).
By Digbuth O'Hooligan
An impressive set of tenants for sure. It’s changed incredibly since I was there last and they hadn’t even started the demolition of the old BBC HQ. Amazing progress.
By Albert
Hopefully there’s a decent planting scheme within the building footprint as well as Public Realm works as it’s one of the most polluted areas alongside the Mancunian Way.
By Anon.
I believe GMI are the main contractor
By Anonymous