A new retail and leisure pop-up space at Bruntwood and Select Property’s £750m scheme in Manchester city centre has received planning consent.
Hatch on Oxford Road will offer a range of temporary and semi-permanent retail fixtures designed to attract aspiring entrepreneurs and established traders seeking to try something new.
The space will constantly change to keep it fresh and exciting place.
Flexible and affordable licenses will be offered, as well as additional support from business planning to delivery.
Artisan coffee house Takk, an independent operator based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, has been confirmed as the first customer and will set up two 1,000 sq ft units on the site for its new concepts – an espresso bar alongside a nano brewery and bar called Öl.
Other opportunities across nine further units include four food and beverage outlets of 80 sq ft and five retail units from 80-240 sq ft.
Due to open in December, it will be curated, operated and managed by the team behind Bruntwood’s Afflecks, the Northern Quarter shopping emporium.
Bruntwood retail surveyor James Tootle said: “Now that Hatch has been granted planning permission, we are excited to bring it to life at Circle Square.
“We look forward to welcoming Takk and Öl to the scheme and invite other operators, innovators and start-ups to get in touch.
“Hatch will be the first step in providing a boost to the existing retail and leisure offer on the Oxford Road corridor and transforming this area into a destination for people to visit.”
On completion, the Circle Square development will include more than 1m sq ft of commercial office space, 1,281 new homes, 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space for shops, studios, bars and restaurants.
A multi-storey car park and two hotels will provide additional amenity to the site.
The buildings will be centred around 250,000 sq ft of public realm with more than 1,000 plants and flowers and 180 semi-mature trees, and a green space the size of four football pitches.
Significant development work is already taking place and by early 2020 more than 60% of the masterplan will be complete.
Select Property Group opened its doors to its two Vita Student buildings at Circle Square last month, with more than 400 students moving on to the scheme.
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