MANCHESTER's collecting quarters faster than a duff vending machine at an American fat camp.
Peterson have proposed a £300m reinvention of the 375,000 sq ft Great Northern Warehouse including apartments, restaurants, offices, retail and leisure
The Northern Quarter, the Civic Quarter, the Medieval Quarter, Green Quarter, St John's Quarter, St Michael's Quarter; as well as those not officially referred to as quarters, but might well as be: the Spinningfields Quarter, the Chinese Quarter, the Gay Quarter, the Knowledge Quarter (Oxford Road), the Co-operative Quarter (NOMA) - as confidence in the construction sector grows so does Manchester's 'Quarter' pipeline.
Now, following the full acquisition of Manchester's gargantuan Grade II-listed Great Northern Warehouse on Deansgate by big time Hong Kong-based property investment firm, The Peterson Group (co-investors in Great Northern with former owner Resolution Property since 2013), it appears Manchester is about to welcome another 'world class city quarter', equivalent to 'New York's Soho' or 'San Francisco’s South of Market district', slap bang in the heart of the city.
Partnered with UK developer, Trilogy Property, Peterson have proposed a £300m reinvention of the 375,000 sq ft Great Northern Warehouse including apartments, restaurants, offices, retail and leisure uses.
Tony Yeung, Managing Director of Peterson Group, said: “Peterson is looking to make a long-term commitment to Manchester and its role as a Northern Powerhouse city, through our investment in the transformation of the Great Northern Warehouse. By creating a world-class destination for employment, leisure and high quality city centre living we believe we will enhance Manchester’s recognised competitiveness both nationally and internationally."
Dubbed the 'king of buying old buildings' by the South China Morning Post, The Peterson Group is lead by Franco Yeung and his kin - one of Hong Kong's richest families which started out shipping Chinese embroidery to Europe in the fifties and now manage a global hotel and property portfolio.
This isn't the family's first foray into the UK property market, having struck a £121m deal for the Ampersand building on London's Oxford Street back in 2013. The group has since been involved in three other projects around the UK.
Peterson and Trilogy are seeking approval from Manchester City Council to incorporate the plans for Great Northern into the council's own vision for the city centre as part of a Strategic Regeneration Framework agreement.
Friday Food Fight in the Great Northern WarehouseRobert Wolstenholme, Managing Director of Trilogy Property, said: “The iconic buildings, the Deansgate address, great transport links and proximity to the City's prime civic, office and hotel locations puts the Great Northern opportunity on a par with New York’s Soho or San Francisco’s South of Market district.”
The Peterson Group's investment in Manchester comes fresh off the back off a new bout of Chinese investment in the city, which last month saw Chancellor George Osborne unveil a new £60m investment by Hualing Industry and Trade Group in three key 'Northern Powerhouse' schemes.
In August, Beijing Construction Engineering Group - which holds a 20% stake in Manchester's £800m Airport City - committed to a 21% stake in a new £200m 'urban quarter' (another one) in central Manchester put forward by a consortium part-owned by former United stars turned property gurus Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs.
A recent report by law firm Pincent Masons estimates China will invest more than £100bn in UK infrastructure by 2025.
