Miller Developments purchase £1.5 million development site on Glasgow waterfront
Miller Developments has purchased a £1.5 million development site on Glasgow‘s waterfront in response to the city’s current
office space shortage.
The company has bought 10 Anderston Quay – a 0.73 acre site – from Begbies Traynor, administrator to former owner Kenmore Broomielaw. The site has planning consent for two 14-storey office blocks, which will house 223,000 sq ft of space between them, but the site could have the potential to be used as a mixed-use development. The development company are hoping the new build could attract an influx of new tenants looking for Grade-A Glasgow office space in the next few years.
“It is a strategic acquisition in terms of what’s happening with Glasgow’s demand-supply dynamic, and there is a bit of a buzz around the waterfront,” commented Pamela Grant, director for Scotland at Miller.“We could deliver offices but a hotel would also be an option, as well as residential. Glasgow planners appear to be flexible.”
Far from being out of town, it now looks like the Miller site could be close to another prominent Glasgow build. Scottish Power are currently in talks over development of a new 200,000 sq ft site for their headquarters and a 2 acre site near the Miller’s recent purchase, 220 Broomielaw, has been mentioned as a possibility – something which Miller claim can only be a good thing for their development.
“If development occurs near our site, it increases the attraction of the area and, hopefully, we would gain interest off the back of that,” enthused Ms Grant.
Offering cheaper rents than London, Glasgow is fast becoming a prominent business location for a range of industries and the city has seen a rise in the number of take-ups since the economical downturn hit.
Recent figures from Cushman & Wakefield show that currently 630,00 sq ft of new office space is available in the city but just 64,000 sq ft is under construction – worrying figures which have resulted in a current office space shortfall and are now forcing developers to look further afield. A number of developers have recently sought funds to start new Glasgow office space projects, including Capella at its 227,000 sq ft Atlantic Square scheme, in an attempt to secure new tenants who are shunning the City for Glasgow.