Manchester’s next generation office building Island secures planning

Joint venture partners Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) and property developer HBD have secured detailed planning permission for Island, their 100,000 sq ft next generation office building in the heart of Manchester city centre.

Occupying an entire city block site in the central business district and surrounded by King Street, Manchester Town Hall and Spinningfields, Island will comprise 10-storeys with a roof terrace and be HBD’s first net zero carbon smart enabled building.

Adam Brady, Executive Director at HBD, commented: “Having the opportunity to deliver our first net zero carbon building is a major deal for us and something we’re very proud to be doing. We have the potential to push the boundaries of what’s possible here and believe this is an important step towards a net zero carbon future. Island has been designed to embrace a new hybrid model of working; where seamless technology combines with a scheme design which will enable people to work fluidly. We look forward to bringing this to market for forward thinking occupiers who share our ambition and values.”

Avison Young is advising GMPVF and also acts as planning consultant on the project. Joint agents for the scheme are OBI and Avison Young. Cartwright Pickard is the architect for Island and Gardiner & Theobald is engaged as project manager.

Construction is scheduled to start on site in 2022.