Designs for life
Published: 15 October, 2008
This Autumn's spate of shopping centre openings has continued unabated with the completion of Cabot Circus and Liverpool One, between them adding almost two million sq ft to the stock of shopping centre floorspace.
In Bristol the Bristol Alliance has completed Cabot Circus, and the million-sq ft scheme was over 90 per cent let on opening day. The partnership between Land Securities and Hammerson took eight years to redevelop the landmark site, at the gateway to Bristol city centre.
Land Securities' chief executive Francis Salway said: "Cabot Circus is of a scale to make a step change in the city," adding that, in design terms, "we've been careful to avoid bland uniformity." This has been achieved by using seven different architects, including five from different offices of Chapman Taylor, to design individual buildings within the scheme.
Cabot Circus features 140 new shops, of which 75 are new to the city. Newcomers include Harvey Nichols, Apple, A|wear, Cruise, Ghost, Guess, Hardy Amies, Hugo Boss, Kurt Geiger, Lacoste, Links of London, Lombok, Molton Brown, Reiss, Ted Baker, Thomas Pink, and The White Company. And House of Fraser has launched the first of its new UK concept stores at the scheme.
Cabot Circus also includes two new restaurant quarters. Quakers Friars, the scheme's focus for up-market shopping centred around an open-air piazza and restored medieval buildings, offers fine dining from Raymond Blanc's Brasserie Blanc, as well as Harvey Nichols' 2nd Floor Bar & Restaurant, Carluccio's, and Piccolino.
The Glass House restaurant terrace, situated on the northern edge of Cabot Circus alongside the new 13-screen Showcase Cinema De Lux, includes family-based restaurants such as Coal, Frankie & Benny's, Giraffe, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, La Tasca, Nando's, Tampopo, Yo! Sushi and Zizzi.
While acknowledging that Autumn 2008 was not the most auspicious time to open a shopping centre worth half a billion pounds, Hammerson's chief executive John Richards said: "This was an eight-year project and it was always inevitable that we were going to have to manage it across an economic cycle. For us, the safeguard is in the quality of the scheme."
While September 25 marked the delivery of the retail and leisure elements of Cabot Circus, further phases of the overall 1.5m-sq ft masterplan are still under development. Later this year, 32 new residential apartments for rent on the north side of Quakers Friars will be completed by the Bristol Alliance, as will 24 affordable homes being developed in partnership with Solon South West Housing Association.
In spring 2009, Future Inns will be opening a 140-bed hotel, and MCD, the residential urban regeneration specialist, will be completing 200 contemporary apartments in Winter 2009 on the south side of Quakers Friars, incorporating a 15-storey residential tower rising above Harvey Nichols. Construction of 161,500 sq ft of new office space by CBRE Investors is due to begin in early 2009.
And in Liverpool Grosvenor opened phase two of Liverpool One. On opening day it was able to announce another 100,000 sq ft of lettings, bringing the scheme to 92 per cent let.
Local independent brands, Drome, Foot Asylum and Chaophraya have agreed terms, along with Onitsuka Tiger, Fat Face, Café Sport England, Leia, Waterstone's and Tesco.
The second phase of the scheme includes Peter's Lane, the five-acre Chavasse Park, the Leisure Terrace and 14-screen Odeon cinema. Paradise Street, the focus for young urban fashion, is new 100 per cent let, and Hanover Street has a major anchor following the confirmation of Tesco. In addition, just one restaurant remains available in Liverpool One.
The deals follow the publication of research by Colliers CRE that found that Liverpool city centre now commands higher rents than Manchester, with zone As of £320 psf versus £300 respectively. And figures released by Liverpool city council show an increase in footfall of 24 per cent in the city centre since the first phase of Liverpool One opened on May 29.
Joanne Jennings, chief executive of Liverpool One, said: "Liverpool One is the biggest and most exciting retail led city centre renewal project in Europe, delivering 42 acres of shopping, leisure and lifestyle in the heart of the city.
"These latest brands, a number of whom are real points of difference for Liverpool One, and the independent research published by Colliers CRE, demonstrate the impact and importance of Liverpool One, not just to the city, but the wider region."
