City council boss ‘quietly confident’ of bringing key anchor tenants that will unlock rest of
Plans for a major new office development and an urban park in Liverpool city centre are back on the agenda
Plans are progressing for the development of a multi-million pound office development and urban park in Liverpool city centre. Earlier this year, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet brought forward funding plans for a stalled Grade A office scheme at Pall Mall in the city’s business district.
An investment of £15m has been secured from central government in response to a report which looked at potential investments for the future of Liverpool’s economy.
The council-owned site, which lies off Bixteth Street, was remediated in 2020 and a masterplan was developed proposing three large office buildings and a hotel surrounded by new green space. But the plans stalled and the site has remained vacant and fenced off ever since.
With the new funding secured, the aim is to complete the phase one of the £55m scheme – including an eight-storey office with a new urban park – by summer 2028. This would make it the first Grade A office development in 16 years in the city’s business district.
Kier Property Developments Ltd are the appointed developer and have gained planning consent for phase one to deliver 111,500 sq ft of office space, including ground floor retail units, and a 0.5 hectare green space.
In a new update on the major development plan, Cllr Nick Small, the council’s cabinet member for growth and the economy said the situation with Pall Mall is “looking really good” with positive discussions about the anchor tenants who could take up phase one of the office space – unlocking the rest of the scheme.
He told the ECHO: “We have identified the funding needed to close that viability gap, which is £15 million. We have identified the funding needed for the public realm and we are working up those proposals.
City centre councillors Christine Banks and Nick Small (also a cabinet member) pose next to the Pall Mall site that is earmarked for a major development
“We are in talks with a couple of potential occupiers for Phase One of the scheme and we are quietly confident about that. This is about listening to what the businesses are saying.”
The council says the proposed new building would be highly energy efficient, with the developer targeting it to become the first operationally net-zero office building in the Liverpool City Region.
Cllr Small added: “The big driver of this will be large corporates wanting to achieve net zero, wanting real excellence to help meet their ESG ambitions.
“But it is also looking about how the world of work is changing and we are seeing this at the city council. There are lots of organisations doing hybrid working. But if you want to get people into the office, you are competing with working at home, so you have got to create social spaces, somewhere that will improve productivity, that will bring people together to collaborate.
“As a city we need to step up to make sure we have that type of space. It is all about productivity. Gone are the days when large corporates will move to the edge of a city because its cheap. People now have a choice, so city centres and commercial districts will only be as good as the offer that is there and being more productive than the alternative.”
Speaking about the timescales for the development, Cllr Small added: “We are looking at 2028 to have Phase One completed and we are quietly confident of the discussions we are having with a couple of end users as anchor tenants. Once we get movement on that we will be able to look at phases two and three.
“That’s when we start looking at inward investors and a pipeline of opportunities. But it is also about showing confidence to the market and increasing rent yields in the market.
“What the Pall Mall investment will do is get more interest in Liverpool, increase rent and stimulate and accelerate private sector investment.”