(24/07/15) Statement from Shehzad Chaudhri, Director at Generation Ltd, one of three leading bidders from LRFS:
"Our proposals are similar to those being discussed by other bidders. We believe the site works best as a mixed use scheme combining workspace, retail, leisure and residential use rather than hotel use..." (full statement at the bottom of the page)
SPECULATION about the future sale of Manchester's London Road Fire Station (LRFS) intensified last week when it was revealed that property investment group, Allied London, had made a bid for the iconic structure.
Allied will look to create a multi-use 'destination project' for Manchester and not 'look at the project as a giant hotel'
It is also understood that Old Trafford-based property firm Generation are the second of three leading bidders for LRFS. The third shortlisted bidder remains a mystery.
Altrincham-based Britannia Hotels - who acquired the Piccadilly structure back in March 1986 and have since let it fall into grave disrepair - finally conceded to sell in April following threats of a second CPO from Manchester City Council and tireless campaigning by the Friends of London Road Fire Station.
Confidential revealed back in May that Britannia were 'unlikely' to consider offers below £10m.
London Road Fire StationAllied, the developer behind Manchester's Spinningfields district and the proposed £1.5bn St John's Quarter, have commissioned architects Levitt Bernstein (recently appointed by Allied London to convert Granada Studios into an event hotel) to draw up renovation plans for the 140,000 sq ft, Grade II-listed Edwardian Baroque structure.
Allied CEO, Michael Ingall, told Confidential he believes their 'ability to work with iconic and heritage assests' makes Allied the right firm to tackle the dilapidated structure.
"We rescued a rundown 1960s social housing complex and created something special at Brunswick in Bloomsbury, our Skypark project in Glasgow was created out of a 1930s shipping factory complex," he told us.
Ingall said Allied would look to create a multi-use 'destination project' for Manchester and not 'look at the project as a giant hotel' - something which has worried campaigners.
"Developing new buildings is not so challenging," Ingall continued. "It's much harder to create sustainable uses for distressed heritage buildings - but we love the challenge of that.
"With LRFS we would aim to combine our place-making skills with our regeneration skills, and with care, craft the building into a destination project with a number of different but complementary uses."
Given Ingall's close relationship with Manchester City Council (Allied purchased ITV's Granada site in 2013 in a joint deal with the Council) and the confidence they clearly have in his work, you'd imagine Allied are now the bookies favourite to take on LRFS.
Though the ultimate decision still lies with the notoriously slippery Britannia - could they yet have a trick up their sleeve? And who is this mystery third bidder?
Allied London CEO Mike IngallFriends of London Road Fire Station campaigner, Adam Prince, welcomed Allied London's bid, and hopes any proposal includes public access.
"It is exciting to see these bids come forward, it's a nervous time for Manchester," he said. "We wish we knew more about the assessement criteria for bidders but this is a secretive process. We just hope any plans are imaginative, ambitious and, most of all, include civic access."
The second round of offers are due on Thursday 23 July.
You can follow @David8Blake on twitter.
Find out more about the campaign to save LRFS at londonroadfire.org/jointhefight - read their full report here.
Statement from Shehzad Chaudhri, Director at Generation Ltd, one of three leading bidders from LRFS (24/07/15):
Dear Friends,
Firstly apologies for not responding to you earlier, but as you can imagine, we have been busy !
We have been quietly following your involvement in the LRFS drama. You have definitely played an important part in the decision to sell the site.
We were at your meeting with some of our consultants on 1st July at the Mechanics Institute. It was very informative to hear the views of the community and the panel. We didn’t contribute to the discussion as Mr Shenton was very vocal and we had similar ideas on the development and would have just been reiterating a lot of what he said.
We consider ourselves to be a new and upcoming development company and are not one of the “known” names in Manchester. However, we are currently involved with a few schemes, of which one is the Toast Rack site on Wilmslow Rd (also grade listed). Our approach on that development has so far been welcomed by the council and the Manchester Modernists and the 20th Century society. We have not courted the press so far as we wanted to do that once we were further advanced with our plans or had secured the LRFS site.
Our proposals are similar to those being discussed by other bidders. We believe the site works best as a mixed use scheme combining workspace, retail, leisure and residential use rather than hotel use. We are considering a scheme with the upper floors dedicated to rented residential use. The rest of the site would comprise of flexible working space along with some retail, restaurant and event space. There are plans for opening up the courtyard for access to the public and for community events and use. We would definitely be starting a dialogue with you with regards to our plans for the building should we be successful in our bid.
We are aware of the involvement of Allied London in the process and wish all the bidders the best of luck. From the recent press articles, it seems that whoever is successful, the building will be guaranteed a bright and secure future.
As Mancunians, we share your passion for preserving the city’s heritage and would very much welcome a chance to play our part in that.
Regards,
Shehzad Chaudhri
Generation Ltd
London Road Fire Station (1910)
