Manchester police signs up for a further 125,000 sq ft

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Manchester police signs up for a further 125,000 sq ft

19/02/10 12:01 am By Jennifer Rigby

Greater Manchester Police has signed up for a further 125,000 sq ft at Ask:Goodman’s Central Park scheme in Manchester.

The £35m letting completed this week and follows last year’s agreement to take 240,000 sq ft at the site for a force headquarters, in one of 2009’s biggest transactions.

It has taken the 125,000 sq ft for a separate divisional headquarters designed by Aedas (Property Week 19.06.09), giving it a total of 365,000 sq ft at Central Park.

Ask:Goodman is developing the 1.4m sq ft park on behalf of the New East Manchester urban regeneration company.

Greater Manchester Police Authority approved the move last week and the government’s Office for Security and Counter Terrorism confirmed a £5m funding contribution. Construction is expected to begin within weeks.

The divisional headquarters will be designed to high sustainability standards with photovoltaic cells and rainwater harvesting. It is due for completion in 2011.

James Raven, development director for UK business parks at Goodman, which is partnering Ask Developments on the scheme, said: “Approval from the Greater Manchester Police Authority for a new divisional headquarters puts Manchester Central Park on the map.

“Both the force headquarters and the divisional headquarters deals highlight the significant need from many public sector organisations to overhaul ageing facilities in order to improve services.”

Ask Developments director David Burkinshaw said the team would get on site as soon as possible.

The park is also home to Fujitsu Services and One Central Park, the 100,000 sq ft educational hub for the city’s three universities, Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT) and Manchester Science Park. Lambert Smith Hampton and Cushman & Wakefield are the letting agents at Central Park.

Also in Manchester this week, Waters Corporation, advised by Lambert Smith Hampton, is closing in on a preferred option for its 185,000 sq ft requirement for a research and development hub.

The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Wilmslow Office Park is thought to be the frontrunner, although Waters is still considering other options, including CTP and Axa Real Estate Investment Managers’ Atlas Business Park and Goodman’s Manchester Business Park.