Bruntwood SciTech has doubled up on its transformation proposals for Met Tower in Glasgow.
The joint venture between Legal & General and Bruntwood bought the building in May last year for £16.2m. Back then, the plan was to invest around £30m to turn the Grade B listed building, which has been vacant for more than 10 years, into a hub for tech and digital businesses.
Bruntwood SciTech has now rethought its proposals and is set to invest £60m to both refurbish the 14-storey former City of Glasgow College building as well as deliver a new 10-storey adjoining tower.
Combined, the two buildings will span across 208,000 sq ft of serviced and leased office space alongside multiple meeting rooms, including a 16-person boardroom, flexible breakout spaces, a wellness and treatment room, a café and a multi-faith room.
In addition, the developer plans to retain Met Tower’s “upside-down boat” roof structure by transforming it into a 60-person lounge, double-height event space with floor-to-ceiling windows, and innovation hub.
The existing 113,000 sq ft building is expected to be brought back into use in summer 2025, while the new building, spanning across 95,000 sq ft, is set to open in 2026. Enabling works on the site are already underway, with work on Met Tower expected to commence this winter, subject to planning.
The new building is expected to achieve net-zero carbon in construction, with both buildings achieving net-zero operation in their shared spaces. The scheme is also set to achieve BREEAM Excellent status, a NABERS five-star rating and an EPC A rating once operational.
Pete Crowther, property director at Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Met Tower is the perfect location to build a new tech and digital cluster in Glasgow. Not only is it located a mere 50m from Queen Street station, it is in the heart of the Glasgow City Innovation District, surrounded by two universities and the college, where future talent and university spin-outs in Scotland and all of the UK can be found.
“We have already been establishing relationships so that as soon as Met Tower opens its doors, businesses will have direct access to places for collaboration opportunities and to highly skilled STEM talent.”
A local team has been appointed to work with Bruntwood SciTech on the redevelopment of Met Tower and the new building, consisting of Cooper Cromar, Woolgar Hunter, Atelier Ten, Savills, Ryden and Thomas & Adamson, supported by a wider team of consultants.
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