A lengthy fit-out process saw 125,000 sqft of offices at Central Park readied for the North Manchester Divisional Police, where several hundred people will soon be officially headquartered.
Carillion constructed Central Park based on designs by the architect firm Aedas. The site is less than two miles from Manchester city centre, and the newly completed divisional HQ sits next door to the GMP’s official county-wide headquarters, which comprises 240,000 sqft of newly built office space.
The local police force’s bosses expressed their satisfaction at having lined up what they describe as one of the most modern and fit-for-purpose headquarters of its kind in the UK.
“This has been in the planning for many years and, as with the new Force HQ just across the road, the North Manchester Divisional headquarters will provide modern, fit-for-purpose facilities enabling officers and staff to work more efficiently,” Councillor Paul Murphy, chairman of the GMP Authority is quoted as saying in a Place North West report on the subject.
As well as a significant police force presence, Manchester’s Central Park office complex is home to several large-scale companies and major local employers like Fujitsu and the NHS.
Efforts have been made to ensure that sustainability standards are kept high across Central Park, with each building having achieved at least a ‘very good’ rating from BREEAM.
The complex is an important and high-profile part of a more broadly focused regeneration effort at brownfield sites in East Manchester. Transport links to and from offices at the site are set to improve considerably in years to come as the local Metrolink tram service is being extended to reach the development.
Editor’s notes: As of June 2024, Greater Manchester Police were still headquartered at Central Park.
Following a staggered move out of its existing headquarters on Bootle Street in Manchester city centre, Gary Neville’s property development company purchased the site to create a 5-star mixed-use development.
As well as a place to live, play and stay, St Michael’s will deliver nine floors of exceptional office space at No. 1 St Michael’s.
The property, due to be completed in August 2024, will deliver 186,000 square feet of sustainable, human-centric workspace, complete with communal roof terraces, and is expected to be Manchester’s first fully Net Zero Carbon commercial development in operation and delivery.
Flexible office space provider Gilbanks will deliver premium serviced offices at the Manchester scheme.
In July 2023, it was announced that law firms Hill Dickinson and Pinsent Mason agreed to rent office space with record deals, paying a reported £43 per square foot per annum.
In August 2024, processor design and software platforms provider Arm signed a 10-year lease agreeing to rent 69,000 square feet of space at St Michael’s, signalling their move from their 29,000 square foot office at 11 Portland Street.
The deal was Manchester’s largest office deal since GPA agreed to lease 130,000 square feet at First Street in 2022.
In October 2024, it was announced that insurance group Axa UK would commit to space for 81 desks at Gilbanks’ space at No.1 St Michael’s.
In the same month, it was also announced that Channel 4 would increase its presence in Manchester by renting a 100-desk office space in St Michael’s.
In November 2024, it was announced that executive-level PR and strategic advisory firm Future had agreed to take space within the Gilbanks office space at St Michael’s.