Several thousand jobs are expected to be created in the process of seeing a former cosmetics factory transformed into high-quality office space, which will sit among a number of other newly-developed commercial buildings in the area.
Retail outlets, a hotel and a gym are also to be constructed over the next year or so as the so-called ‘Soapworks’ project goes ahead, with development work to be carried out by Bowmer & Kirkland.
The site is now owned by the US-based asset management business the Carlyle Group, having previously belonged to Colgate Palmolive.
Costs on the project are expected to reach roughly £25 million, while 25,000 sq ft of new Greater Manchester office space looks set to be made available at the site by June of next year, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Mark Harris from the Carlyle Group told the paper: “There has been strong interest and we are in the process of talking to a number of prospective tenants across a number of sectors, who are attracted to the architectural qualities of the building, its location and the fact that we are able to offer rents of around half of those of central Manchester.”
Earlier this month, the banking and asset management group Investec agreed on a deal that will see it moving much of its north-west-based workforce to an area of grade-A office space at 3 Hardman Street in Spinningfields, central Manchester.
Meanwhile, Salford Quays is seeing huge sums invested as efforts are made to transform it into one of the leading media industry hubs in the world.
Editor’s notes: In 2015, it was announced that the telecoms company TalkTalk and the Home Office had signed deals at Soapworks.
TalkTalk agreed to rent office space totalling 106,000 square feet on a 15-year lease, which added to the 20,000 square feet it had committed to let in October 2014 on a 15-year lease.
And the Home Office agreed to lease offices totalling 54,000 square feet on a 10-year lease.
TalkTalk moved into its offices in June of 2017 following what had been the largest office fit-out project in the North West that year.
In June 2019, it was announced that Soapworks was fully let after TalkTalk and the Home Office both agreed to rent additional space (a combined 25,500 square feet) at the development.
Other tenants at the scheme include Irwell Valley Homes, tech company CGI, property management company Innov8 and engineering firm MWH.
The quoted headline office rent in 2019 of the BREEAM ‘Very good’ office space was £18.50 per square foot.