Hunter Real Estate Investment Managers (Hunter) has started its £10M transformation of the 433,637 sqft Exchange Quay office complex in Salford Quays after Salford City Council approved plans for the investment into the major office development.
Hunter submitted a planning application in April this year which confirmed its commitment to investing in the Greater Manchester office market by modernising Exchange Quay, which was purchased by its North American institutional client at the end of last year.
Planning consent has been granted for the works and ISG is now on-site undertaking the first phase of Hunter’s plans for Exchange Quay which involves the upgrading of the six office buildings to Grade A specification including new building entrances, reception and common areas, facilities and lifts. ISG has started transforming the 116,000 sqft, Number 8 which is the first of the office buildings to be upgraded.
With the offices underway, work will commence in autumn realising Hunter’s vision for the life-style element of Exchange Quay through extensiveremodelling of the whole public realm and the creation of a vibrant working environment through the introduction of a range of occupier facilities including; a restaurant, gymnasium, convenience store with Post Office, a management suite and a completely redeveloped amenity ‘hub’. The full works are set to complete in spring 2015.
Iain Leheny, fund manager at Hunter, said; “It is fantastic news that our proposals for Exchange Quay have been given the green light and now our plans will start to be brought to life. We are excited about being able to demonstrate to the market the high quality of accommodation and brand new environment we are creating and we are looking forward to showcasing the offices.”
Justin Myall, Director of AA Projects and Project Manager for Exchange Quay, commented; “The entire project team has been working hard to master-plan and create a timeline for the works to ensure that these progress smoothly with maximum consideration to the existing occupiers at Exchange Quay. The work that has now commenced on the offices is just the beginning of this significant redevelopment programme and by the end of the summer, we will be gearing up to create the lifestyle elements that will bring the whole vision together.”
Exchange Quay’s six office buildings range from 26,151 sqft to 116,684 sq ft. The development, which also boasts its own dedicated Metrolink tram stop, is strategically located just off Trafford Road which links Salford Quays to both Manchester City Centre and the major motorway networks via the M602.
High profile occupiers such as Winning Pitch, Kin-Tec Electronics and Sage UK are in occupation at Exchange Quay and it was recently announced that Aegon UK has committed to the development for a further 10 years with a 4,140 sqft office suite in Number 8.
