Bruntwood SciTech’s proposals include refurbishing the former City of Glasgow College building as well as constructing a new adjoining tower.
The £60m investment will see Bruntwood SciTech bring the current 14-storey Grade B-listed building back into use by the summer of 2025, following a 10-year period of vacancy. The new 10-storey block would open in 2026. Combined, the two towers will have more than 200,000 sq ft of serviced and leased office space.
The buildings will be connected by a double height atrium.
Enabling works on the site are already under way, with work on Met Tower expected to start this winter, subject to planning.
Bruntwood SciTech is a joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General that focuses on the science and technology sector. It sees Met Tower providing office space for tech businesses, including university spinouts and start-ups.
The new building is expected to achieve net zero carbon in construction and with both buildings achieving net zero operation in their shared spaces. The proposals include the use of materials selected to reduce the environmental impact of the building and vertical fins for active solar shading. The developers are targeting BREEAM Excellent status, a NABERS 5 Star rating and an EPC A rating once operational.
Met Tower’s distinctive ‘upside down boat’ roof structure will be retained and transformed into a 60-person lounge and double-height event space with floor to ceiling windows.
Bruntwood SciTech property director Pete Crowther said: “Met Tower is the perfect location to build a new tech and digital cluster in Glasgow; not only is it located mere 50 metres from Queen Street Station, it’s in the heart of the Glasgow City Innovation District surrounded by two exceptional universities and the college, where future talent and some of the most exciting university spin-outs in Scotland and all of the UK can be found. We’ve already been establishing relationships so that as soon as Met Tower opens its doors businesses have direct access into places for collaboration opportunities and to access highly skilled STEM talent.”
Bruntwood SciTech shareholder Legal & General has already forward funded 324 build-to-rent apartments within Glasgow’s new Buchanan Wharf waterside regeneration area and a new 187,000 sq ft office for the UK civil service at Atlantic Square in Argyll Street.
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