One of the most prominent landmarks in Glasgow’s City Centre – the Met Tower – has been granted planning permission to transform the former college and its connected podium building into 120,000sqft of state-of-the-art defurbished Grade ‘A’ office space, a landscaped plaza and a 260-bed hotel.
Osborne+Co, a property development and investment firm appointed Cooper Cromar as the architect and is investing £100m into the project.
The B-listed tower, recognised from afar for its famous pink ‘People Make Glasgow’ signage will become office space, which the developers hope will be attractive to tech firms as well as other sectors of the market. The original design features such as the glazing and travertine gables will be replaced on a like-for-like basis while the existing internal structure will be opened up to provide efficient floorpates with cutting edge interiors. A double-height office space on the rooftop will include a fully glazed gable with its own terrace and viewing gallery offering stunning views over George Square and Glasgow City.
The existing podium building will be demolished to make way for the 260-bed hotel across 11 floors. It will be connected to the Met Tower via a landscaped plaza, which will be accessible to the public. A flexible double height auditorium will be created below the plaza which could house a market hall, co-working space or a suite of highly adaptable meeting rooms and theatre style conferencing facilities.
The plaza will link to the reception level of the Met Tower which will have its own separate entrance on North Hanover Street.
Will Hean, development director at Osborne+Co said: “The Met Tower is intrinsic to Glasgow’s identity and we’ve worked closely with key stakeholders to ensure that our final proposal complements the surrounding area and provides dynamic indoor and outdoor space, which will capitalise on its central location beside Queen Street train station.
“Achieving planning consent comes at a critical time in the real estate market which continues to be challenged because of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite this, we are committed to investing significantly in Glasgow as we recognise the strength and diversity of the Glasgow economy. Glasgow’s tech sector in particular will be significant as the economy works its way back to strength."
Images courtesy of Trace.
