A joint venture team has won the competition to masterplan The Co-operative Group’s 20-acre site in Manchester city centre.
The team led by Arup also comprises Jones Lang LaSalle and Gardiner and Theobald. It will draw up plans for the redevelopment of the site which is currently the group’s HQ as well as its financial arm Co-operative Financial Services.
The site which is located along the borders of Corporation Street and Miller Street will form a key Northern Gateway when redeveloped.
Lynda Shillaw, managing director of the Group’s land and property arm, The Co-operative Estates, said: ‘This competition drew interest from more than 30 companies as far afield as America and Australia.
'The submissions we received were generally of high quality but we were particularly impressed by the breadth of experience and the understanding of our needs shown by the Arup team.’
The selection follows a competition launched last November when the Group announced its plan to find a new HQ within Greater Manchester. Other finalists included Kohn Pedersen Fox, Heneghan Peng and BDP.
Arup and its partners will work closely with Manchester City Council and other groups including the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive to draw up the plans.
It is expected that plan will be drawn up by the end of the year.
