Milligan opens MetquarterMilligan, the retail development and asset management specialist, is today opening the Metquarter retail development, in Liverpool city centre, and welcoming the first group of retailers.
The 150,000 sq ft development will incorporate 48 stores including Armani Exchange and Hugo Boss. The Metquarter will be anchored by Flannels (an independent retailer which stocks collections by Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci and Prada) with a 17,500 sq ft store.
With one exception, all the retailers will be opening their first store in Liverpool, which represents an enormous vote of confidence in both the City and the Metquarter.
The Metquarter has already provided a significant boost to Liverpool’s economy; the project created some 200 construction jobs and it is expected that there will be 400 retail jobs once the development is completed.
The Metquarter is expected to attract 100,000 visitors per week and first year sales are predicted to be around £50m.
John Milligan said, “We’ve taken a dormant building and, using the design skills of the Milligan team, developed the Metquarter into a retail site of which Liverpool can be very proud.
“I hope we have been able to create something which is more than ‘just a shopping centre’. The Milligan approach is founded on three key principles; everything we do is based on detailed research among consumers; second, we involve the local creative industries in every project and, third, we try to reflect local culture.
“With the Metquarter, we then tried to develop an environment in which it would be a pleasure to shop, work and relax. I hope we have succeeded.
“This is the first regeneration project to open in central Liverpool and I believe it will give a boost to both the City and the whole region. The Metquarter has created hundreds of jobs and will give the North West a dynamic new shopping destination.”
The confirmed retailers to date are:
All Saints
Animal
Armani Exchange
Aspecto
Bratz
Café Rouge
Coast
Costa Coffee
Flannels
Gieves and Hawkes
Hobbs
Hugo Boss
Kurt GeigerLevi’s
Links of London
MAC
Mikey
Molton Brown
Storm
Timberland
The Myne
Parchment
Sassoon Studio
Sunglass Hut
T. M. Lewin
Whistles
Art has been incorporated into the fabric of the building, embracing Liverpool’s status as European Capital of Culture 2008.
Milligan has commissioned a group of artists based in the North West to create a series of art works which were built into the design of the shopping centre. Local university students have also been given the opportunity to display their work.
Overseeing this aspect of the project is Turner Prize Nominee Mel Chantrey. Mel has designed several pieces for the Metquarter, including a 75 metre suspended latticework sculpture.
A war memorial commemorating the post office staff whose lives were lost in the First World War, which has remained hidden in the derelict building, is to once again be displayed for the public. Milligan has created an intimate space for the statue to stand allowing people to visit for a quiet moment.