After securing Government funding toward £60m cost of HEMISPHERE One development in Liverpool, Sciontec unveils plans for HEMISPHERE Two, taking total investment to £120m. Tony McDonough reports
Sciontec is to build a second £60m HEMISPHERE office and laboratory building in the Liverpool Knowledge Quarter as it secures lettings for 66% at the first building.
Plans for HEMISPHERE One in Paddington Village were first revealed in 2022. It will comprise around 115,000 sq ft of office and laboratory space. Two weeks ago the Government said it would offer £13m towards the cost of the build.
Sciontec, which is a partnership between Liverpool City Council, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, and Bruntwood SciTech, said construction is set to begin in early 2025 and complete by early 2027.
On Tuesday Sciontec said it has secured lettings totalling around 75,000 sq ft of HEMISPHERE One. The Centre of Excellence for Long-Acting Therapeutics, a University of Liverpool cross-faculty research initiative, will take 44,421 of laboratory space.
And the building will also be home to Civic Health Innovation Zone (CHI-Zone), which could occupy 16,211 sq ft of workspace, and National Biofilms Innovation Centre, which is poised to move into 14,807 sq ft of laboratory space.
Such is the demand for laboratory space in the Knowledge Quarter that Sciontec is now confident it can also deliver HEMISPHERE Two. This would take the combined investment to around £120m and offer a combined 350,000 sq ft of space.
It is proposed the HEMISPHERE Two development is located adjacent to HEMISPHERE One at Paddington Village, Liverpool City Council’s flagship development site.
This scheme is subject to discussions with the council in relation to master planning and the future disposal of remaining plots at Paddington Village and planning consent.
It was also announced on Tuesday that the two buildings will receive Liverpool City Region Investment Zone grant funding.
HEMISPHERE Two will feature open access Laboratories on its ground floor, chemistry labs, and has also been identified as a potential location for the new Pandemic Preparedness and Response Laboratories.
Both HEMISPHERE buildings will be adjacent to The Spine, a 155,000 sq ft office building that opened in May 2021.
Professor Mark Power, chair of Sciontec and Vice-Chancellor at Liverpool John Moores University, said: “Existing lab facilities at Liverpool Science Park are already at capacity and HEMISPHERE One now significantly pre-let.
“We have a robust platform to move forward confidently with plans for HEMISPHERE Two and create even more places for pioneers to thrive in the heart of the city region.”
Sciontec will hope to start work on HEMISPHERE Two shortly after the completion of HEMISPHERE One in 2027. CBRE and Knight Frank are the retained commercial agents for HEMISPHERE.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram added: “The Liverpool City Region Innovation Zone is an important tool in our arsenal to position our area at the head of UK science and innovation.
“It’s fantastic to see HEMISPHERE take a big step forward with up to £13m of funding that I’ve secured as chair of the Liverpool Strategic Futures Advisory Panel.
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“Throughout the development of our Innovation Zone, I have been clear that any investment in our area must go further than purely financial incentives.
“I want to use our status as a force for good, to connect our residents up to secure, well-paid jobs and training opportunities, and attract transformational investment into our communities.”