The completion of a £9 million refurbishment at 17 Quay Street, Manchester, marks a significant milestone for the city’s business district.
The extensive upgrade undertaken by OBI Property on behalf of Urbana Partners has revitalised 63,340 square feet of office space. This strategic effort is located at the prominent gateway to Spinningfields, Enterprise City, and St Johns. The property, now referred to as Quoin, offers prime Grade A office accommodation complemented by over 7,000 square feet of new retail and leisure space, marking a 15% increase from the initial proposals.
Announced in 2022, the transformation features a comprehensive façade overhaul, including enlarged windows and a brick treatment colour change. Additionally, the project boasts a large new roof terrace, a ground floor reception with a business lounge and meeting rooms, high-quality end-of-trip facilities, a cycle hub, secure EV car parking, and high-speed fibre connections.
OBI Property led all aspects of the design, investment, project management, and leasing. Their efforts have already facilitated the pre-letting of the ground floor retail and leisure space to a high-end restaurant and bar, as well as the fifth-floor office space. Joe Weilding from OBI’s Building Consultancy team commented, ‘Quoin has been a real labour of love for the OBI team and to see the vision come to life is extremely rewarding. The entire team has worked hard to ensure that the building achieved all that it was set out to do. It is a repositioning project that completely elevates this prime Manchester business district and we’re looking forward to seeing it become a sought-after office and leisure destination.’
Nick Lloyd of Urbana Partners expressed similar sentiments, stating, ‘This has been our first repositioning project in Manchester and we are delighted with how our vision for the fabric of building and the internal spaces have now come to life. The combination of location, prominence, and amenity have already translated into strong demand and we look forward to announcing the completion of a number of leasing deals shortly.’
According to Nab Speakes, Managing Director at 3D Reid, ’17 Quay Street was a fascinating project to be involved with, as it gave us an opportunity to recreate the identity and positioning of an under-utilised building within the heart of the city.’
Significantly, the project has achieved accreditations such as BREEAM Excellent, EPC A, and Wiredscore Platinum, underscoring its commitment to sustainability. The use of biophilia throughout the building and the inclusion of EV car charging facilities further align with contemporary environmental standards. Manchester City Council, which provided planning permission, has positively endorsed the completed project.
Quoin offers a total of 54,000 square feet of office space across five floors, augmented by an additional 7,000 square feet of retail and leisure units fronting both Quay Street and Byrom Street.
The completion of this refurbishment project at 17 Quay Street represents a significant enhancement of Manchester’s business infrastructure, setting a new benchmark for office and leisure destinations in the city.
