A £60 MILLION project to overhaul a building in Glasgow city centre has been shelved due to challenging economic conditions.
Proposals to transform the city centre Met Tower into a “digital and tech hub” could be scaled back to a residential option, the Daily Record reports.
Known for its pink “People Make Glasgow” display (below), the building used to be owned by the City of Glasgow College but has been unused since 2014.
Owners Bruntwood SciTech brought forward striking plans to refurbish the building and build an interconnecting second 10-storey tower at the site.
The company previously said that the 200,000 square feet of office space would serve as a “dedicated digital and tech hub in the heart of Glasgow” with the plans approved by the council.
A spokesperson for Bruntwood SciTech told the Record: “Since our acquisition of Met Tower in 2022, there have been significant changes to the economic climate and construction market caused by inflation and high interest rates, both of which have created viability challenges.
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“Like any responsible developer we have to be flexible and respond to changing circumstances, which means accepting our original vision for the building to create an office workspace is not feasible in the current climate. It is a difficult decision and one we have not taken lightly.”
The company added it had been “made to feel so welcome by the Glasgow community” and that it recognised the need for the building to be “brought back to life as soon as possible”.
“We are grateful to all those who have supported us with the planning to date and are working with us to look at all the available options for Met Tower’s future”.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council commented: “While it is disappointing that the proposed Met Tower project will not now take place to join the series of recently completed developments in the city centre, we will be working with partners with a view to do all that we can to help deliver a sustainable redevelopment of the building and site as quickly as possible.”
Scottish Labour MSP for the Glasgow region Paul Sweeney (above) said the news was “dismaying” and that he would be meeting with SciTech to “see if there is anything that can be done to help them find a way forward and to realise this ambitious project for Glasgow”.
“With rival cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool powering ahead with such investments, Glasgow is at serious risk of falling further behind in its growth and development,” the MSP added.
Researchers with ParrotPrint previously named the building as the second ugliest in the UK.
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