Ask Real Estate, which is majority owned by the Richardson family business, has put forward plans for a 130,000 sq ft office at Manchester’s First Street, designed to be one of the city’s greenest commercial buildings.
The independent real estate company has unveiled proposals for a grade A office building over nine storeys, featuring column-free floorplates of 16,700 sq ft.
The building, designed by Jon Matthews Architects, is designed to be “market leading” in terms of sustainability, and will be the first net zero carbon building in operation on the First Street estate in the city centre.
It is also the first office in Manchester capable of achieving a minimum NABERS Design For Performance rating of 5.5 stars or above.
The office proposals also include amenity spaces such as co-working space, winter gardens, outdoor roof terrace, and what is claimed to be the largest facilities of their type outside London for cyclists. The building will also use the Smart Spaces platform to provide energy efficiency throughout.
Work is set to begin on the project in May this year with completion pencilled in for May 2024. Bam has been lined up as main contractor for the project.
The development will be built on Plot 9 within the wider First Street masterplan, replacing original proposals for a 280,000 sq ft scheme that were put forward in 2019.
Previous phases of First Street include the Home theatre, No1 First Street – currently home to Auto Trader and other businesses including Jacobs – and No8 First Street, which counts the likes of WSP, Gazprom, and Willis Towers Watson among its tenants.
For more information on Ask visit www.askrealestate.co.uk