Manchester’s Direct Line House redevelopment gets go-ahead

Urbana Partners has secured permission to go ahead with its transformation plans for 17 Quay Street, formerly known as Direct Line House, in Manchester city centre. The firm acquired the 58,000 sq ft building in February last year through OBI’s transaction and asset management team. The proposals include the setup of a new entrance via Byrom Street, creating a gateway through St John’s Gardens to Enterprise City. The building’s external appearance will also be refurbished, with proposed alteration to the elevations, including wholesale window replacement, brickwork tinting and new canopied entrances from Quay Street. The scheme is also set to secure some sustainability credentials such as BREEAM Excellent and a WiredScore accreditation of Platinum. Andrew Cowell, from the transactions and asset management team at OBI, said: “The building is in a great central location and the inclusion of the ground floor collaboration space, wellness facilities and roof terrace will attract progressive businesses who really value their working environment.” The wider team involved in the project includes 3DReid as the architectural consultant, Design MEP as the mechanical and electrical consultant, and Tier Consult as structural engineers. Element Sustainability has been appointed as BREEAM assessor. Works on the building will start immediately with a completion scheduled for the final quarter of 2023. See more information on planning in Manchester>> To send feedback, e-mail evelina.grecenko@eg.co.uk or tweet @Gre_Eve or @EGPropertyNews Photo © OBI