Luxury housebuilder Crosby Homes is considering plans to abandon residential development on the site of Manchesters famous Hacienda nightclub and launch an office scheme instead.
The move suggests that the balance in central Manchester has tipped back in favour of office development, as the citys office supply crisis deepens.
Crosby has submitted two planning applications for the site at West Whitworth Street to city planners. One proposes 144 apartments, and the other up to 10,220 sq m (110, 000 sq ft) of offices on seven floors.
Crosby is expected to make a final decision later in June, and is understood to be talking to potential office prelet candidates.
A Crosby insider said: “The Manchester residential market is still busy, but at the same time there are now very few opportunities to provide the kind of floorplates we could create at the Hacienda site. The situation is very fluid at the moment and we are still looking at various options.”
EGi News 31/05/01
