Manchester Arndale

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Manchester Arndale
Manchester Arndale
Mall facts and statistics
Location Manchester, England
Opening date 1975
Developer Arndale Property Trust
Owner Prudential
Capital Shopping Centres
No. of stores and services 155 currently (~210 Total)
No. of anchor tenants 7
Total retail floor area 1,400,000 ft² (130,060 m²)
Parking 777 spaces, NCP
No. of floors 3 (21 in Office Tower)
Website http://www.manchesterarndale.com/

Manchester Arndale is a large shopping centre in Manchester City Centre, in North West England. Built during the 1970s, and undergoing significant redevelpment in recent years, Manchester Arndale is amongst the largest centres of retail in the United Kingdom.

Contents

[edit] History

Manchester Arndale is the largest of a chain of Arndale Centres, which were built across the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 1979, at a cost of £100 m.[citation needed]

Over the past decade, the centre has seen large-scale redevelopment. The centre now has a retail floor space of 1,400,000 sq ft (130,060 m²), allowing it to hold the title of Europe's largest city centre shopping mall.[citation needed] It has held this record continuously since construction apart from a brief spell during the northern redevelopment when the title was held by the Birmingham Bullring. However, it is set to lose this title in 2008 when the 150,000 m² Westfield London opens. As well as retail space, Manchester Arndale also includes a 96 m tower which holds office space.

When it was originally built, it became an eyesore to many as it was clad in unattractive yellow tiles, earning it the nickname "The worlds biggest public toilet block". Since renovation began, the tiles have been removed and a more modern tile, along with mirrors, has been implemented.

By the late nineties the centre was no longer owned by the Arndale Property Trust. A rebranding was proposed, but subsequently abandoned. Today the centre is jointly owned by Prudential and Capital Shopping Centres.

[edit] Redevelopment

The centre was badly damaged in the 1996 Manchester City Centre bombing by the Provisional IRA and needed extensive redevelopment work. In the immediate aftermath of the bombing the southern half of the centre was repaired and refurbished. The northern half was patched up, but parts such as the Arndale Bus station never reopened. The biggest Marks and Spencer in the world is now open, with a separate building, and a bridge connects the shoppers to the main part of the centre.

In October 2003, as the final stage of rebuilding the city centre after the bombing, the whole of the half of the centre north of Cannon Street closed and was demolished. During the next two to three years the northern half of the centre was completely rebuilt and extended.

The first phase of the "northern extension", known as 'Exchange Court' opened on 24 October 2005. Exchange Court features new stores from Next and River Island.

This was followed by the second phase known as 'New Cannon Street'. This opened on 6 April 2006. Stores in this phase include new flagship branches of Top Man and TopShop. The stores are the biggest apart from their respective London headquarters.

On 7 September 2006, the third and final phase of the northern extension opened. The new Winter Garden features stores such as a new Virgin Megastore to replace the one that used to be on Market Street, a Waterstone's bookshop, and a new single level unit for the Arndale Market. The completed mall provides a link from Exchange Square and The Triangle to the Northern Quarter, and from Market Street to The Printworks.

On 30 September 2006, Apple Computer opened], its second Manchester store, in the 'New Cannon Street' area.

Although, the southern half of the centre has been extensively refurbished, the images show the difference in the main design considerations between the two halves of the centre. Despite the fact that Halle Square has been extensively refurbished including new sky lights, it still shows a major difference in the levels of natural light between the original malls and the northern extension. The original seventies malls were designed to "protect" visitors from the outside, whereas the newer malls seek to maximise natural light.

[edit] Food Court

Like many large shopping malls the Manchester Arndale has a food court. The Food-Chain (formerly known as Voyagers) is an 800-seat food court situated on the second floor above the far south-west tip of the centre. It can be accessed via an escalator from Market Street and from the first floor at the south-western tip of the centre close to Argos and the first floor entrance to Boots.

Current stores in the Food-Chain include Baker's Oven, KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut Express, Subway and Spud U Like.

[edit] Retailers

[edit] Future retailers

[edit] Image gallery

Exchange Court

The Grand Opening of the new Apple Store in September 2006

New Cannon Street, looking towards Exchange Court

Halle Square, in the Southern Half of the Centre

The view of Market Street from the Food-Chain. Note also the new cladding on the centre. The infamous original yellow tiles can still be seen in the picture at the far end of centre

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 53°29′00″N, 2°14′29″W

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