Curtain-Up On Former BBC Site

Joint venture partners Bruntwood and Select Property have announced Circle Square as the new name for the former BBC site.

Circle Square, is set to be a diverse and unique place where discoveries and ideas can thrive, and the name is an intentional contradiction that invites curiosity and perfectly depicts the vision for the area.

As a key development for Corridor Manchester, Circle Square is helping it to realise its ambition of becoming a top global innovation district.

A series of public consultations outlining the full ethos for the site are being held this week ahead of submitting one of Manchester's largest planning applications to date in January next year.

With over 1.1million sq ft of residential, commercial and public space, if approved, the planning application will deliver a value of over £360million whilst creating over 2000 jobs for the city.

Central to the site will be two collaborative spaces designed to encourage a blend of people and businesses to come together. The Green and a 20,000 sq ft pavilion will provide additional events space for the city, offering huge opportunities for a wide variety of staged and pop-up events.

The 617,848 sq ft residential space, which spans across four state-of-the-art buildings, will be operated under Select's Affinity Living brand and the 390,000 sq ft of commercial space will be delivered by Bruntwood.

The ground floors of both the residential and commercial spaces are being converted into an 82,000 sq ft retail destination, designed to attract a vibrant mix of independent and complementary retail and leisure operators to the area.

Mark Stott, CEO of Select Property Group, said: “With its unmatched location, superb outdoor spaces and variety of people who will be living, working and visiting, Circle Square promises to become an exciting new community in Manchester.

“Both Select and Bruntwood share a strong commitment to putting customers at the heart of everything we do and we're confident that the plans being submitted reflect this desire.”

Chris Oglesby, CEO at Bruntwood, commented: “Circle Square will evolve into a fully integrated residential and commercial neighbourhood, contributing to the city's continued economic and cultural success at the heart of Corridor Manchester.

“It will be surrounded by leading centres of knowledge, art, music and innovation and will offer a compelling reason for existing talent to stay in Manchester, whilst attracting new talent to study, live, work and play here.”

For more information, visit www.circlesquaremanchester.com

-Ends -