The Metroplex Business Park in Salford’s successful enterprise zone has been officially opened by the Mayor of Salford.
The £3m first phase, which is being developed by the Carroll Group in conjunction with the Manchester Ship Canal Co, has just been completed. It has 100,000 sq ft of business space in three production/distribution units of 17,500 sq ft to 26,000 sq ft and three two-storey pavilions of 9,600 sq ft each.
The pavilions currently offer up to 50% office accommodation at first-floor level, but can be fitted out as 100% offices.
Quoting rents are £2.95 per sq ft for the production space and £4.25 per sq ft for the pavilions (rising to £5.50 per sq ft if all the office option is taken up).
Letting agents Dunlop Heywood and Richard Ellis report serious inquiries from a wide cross-section of potential tenants, and discussions are at an advanced stage in respect of two of the pavilions and one production unit.
The whole Metroplex scheme, which is being co-ordinated by Business Environments, will provide a total of 400,000 sq ft. Details of a speculative phase two, which should start in October, are being worked out.
However, David Cotton, development director of Carroll, said: “Although in the current plan we envisage building standard units from as small as 9,600 sq ft, it is possible to build up to as much as a further 300,000 sq ft on a design-and-build package.”
