Achi news desk-
The 14-storey Building and Printing College tower, which has been empty since 2014, was bought by the company from property developer Osborne+Co for £16.2m in 2022.
The specialist property developer’s initial plans were to redevelop the Grade B listed building, which has been empty since 2014, into 113,000 sq ft of co-working space for expanding technology and digital businesses.
That original investment proposal was doubled from £30 million to £60m with a second phase of an additional 100,000 square feet of work space on a site adjacent to the Met Tower. There were also plans for a new landscaped plaza that would be accessible to the public between the two buildings.
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The building was expected to reopen in the winter of 2025.
Bruntwood SciTech said challenging economic conditions were behind the decision to cancel the redevelopment plans.
A spokesman for the company told the Daily Record: “Since we bought Met Tower in 2022, there have been significant changes to the economic climate and the construction market due to inflation and high interest rates, both of which have created viability challenges.
“Like any responsible developer we have to be flexible and respond to changing circumstances, which means that accepting our original vision for the building to create office work space is not practical in the current climate. It is a difficult decision and one that we have not taken lightly.
“From our first day in the city, we have been welcomed by the Glasgow community, and we would like to give special thanks to Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
“We recognize the iconic position of this building, the opportunity it presents to the city, and the need to bring it back to life as soon as possible. We are grateful to everyone who has supported us with the planning so far and is working with us to look at all the options available for the future of the Met Tower.”
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “While it is disappointing that the proposed Met Tower project will not now go ahead to join the series of recently completed developments in the city centre, we will be working with partners with the intention of doing everything we do. help achieve a sustainable redevelopment of the building and site as soon as possible.”
When it opened as Stow College of Construction in 1964, the North Hannover Street building was one of the first commercial high-rises in the city.
It was later merged to become, as many will know, the Glasgow College of Building and Printing.
The landmark building was covered in a huge “People Make Glasgow” graphic wrap for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Glasgow City Council had already approved plans to convert the building into a 260-room hotel alongside office and retail space under Osborne and Co.
