Sciontec appoints Morgan Sindall to deliver HEMISPHERE One, a £61m laboratory and office development in the Liverpool Knowledge Quarter. Tony McDonough reports
Sciontec is to push on to deliver the first of two laboratory and office buildings in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter totalling 216,693 sq ft.
On Tuesday it announced Morgan Sindall Construction as preferred contractor for HEMISPHERE One which will comprise 117,190 sq ft of space. Morgan Sindall also built The Spine building which is close by in Paddington Village.
Paddington Village is backed by a £12m Liverpool City Region Combined Authority grant to pay for infrastructure work, including demolition and bringing services to the central 8.4 acres of the 30-acre site.
HEMISPHERE One has also secured £13m from the Government as a result of the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel and a £1.5m allocation from the Liverpool City Region Life Sciences Innovation Zone, part of the Government’s Investment Zone programme.
It will comprise chemistry labs, data labs, bio labs and innovation labs, alongside incubator space, grow-on and commercial lab space. Procurement for HEMISPHERE Two will be managed via a separate tender process at a later date.
Morgan Sindall will support Sciontec in refining the technical design and allow for smooth transition into the construction phase of the project, which is expected to start on site in the autumn.
It completed The Spine in 2021. It comprises 160,000 sq ft commercial building which is home to the Royal College of Physicians, adjacent to the site of HEMISPHERE One.
Sciontec, a partnership between Liverpool City Council, University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Bruntwood SciTech, has already reached outline letting agreements prior to work starting on HEMISPHERE One.
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of Sciontec, said: “We are bringing HEMISPHERE One and Two forward to satisfy the rocketing demand for high-quality lab space in Liverpool city centre and support delivery of the city region’s Innovation Zone ambitions.
“The appointment of a trusted and experienced main contractor in Morgan Sindall allows us to now confidently move ahead with finalising the designs and commencing shell and core work over the coming months.
“While we are advancing with pre-let agreements, we also hope that this latest step forward will offer confidence to the wider market and future innovation occupiers that Liverpool can deliver excellent new developments at scale.”
READ MORE: Sainsbury’s to open Wirral docklands store
READ MORE: Liverpool city region heads to French Riviera for MIPIM expo
Worthington Owen and Avison Young have been appointed as agents for HEMISPHERE One.
Steven Gregory, North West area director at Morgan Sindall, added: “It’s an honour to return to Paddington Village to help shape the latest transformational project within the Knowledge Quarter.
“This is an exciting time for the city region, with the Innovation Zone set to make it a life science powerhouse.”
