King's Dock / King's Waterfront
The transformation of the former Kings Dock next to the Albert Dock and River Mersey is underway. What was once the largest vacant site in the city centre has become one of the most well known development sites in the region, and has already become an international visitor destination.
Liverpool Arena & Convention Centre
The £146million Liverpool Echo Arena and BT convention centre opened in January 2008. The facility comprises a multi-purpose indoor arena/exhibition hall capable of accommodating between 8,000 - 10,000 spectators, and provides around 7,800 square metres of exhibition space and a 1,350 seat conference centre.
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The official opening took place on 12th January 2008 with a star studded concert that formed one of the first major events for Liverpool's Capital of Culture year. "Liverpool The Musical - the Greatest Story Ever Told" saw the history of the city brought to life with what was promised to be the most unusual line-up ever to set foot on the same stage. Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart, Echo and the Bunnymen, Pete Wylie, Ian Broudie, Shack and the Christians all took part. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra also played, stacked up on vertical scaffolding with conductor Vasily Petrenko on a scissor lift. Echo and the Bunnymen, Pete Wylie, Shack, former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds and The Christians were among others taking part
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During its first year, the arena played host to the MTV awards and the BBC Sports Personality Awards amongst its many major coups.
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At the same time, the convention centre hosted more than 100 events for some of the highest-profile organisations and events in the country, including the Association of Chief Police Officers, the British Council of Shopping Centres' annual conference, and perhaps most notably, one of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's first cabinet meetings outside London - the first ever to be held in Liverpool.
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Over 700,000 people passed through the doors during the first year, bringing an estimated £200million to the local economy.
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It was named UK Venue of the Year at the national Confex Awards, as well as having the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative for its green endeavours and sustainable conferencing incentives for event organisers.
- The development was funded and led by a public partnership, co-ordinated by Liverpool Vision, and consisting of the landowner and funder (Housing & Communities Agency [previously known as English Partnerships]), Liverpool City Council, and the North West Development Agency. Funding also came from the ERDF Merseyside Objective 1 Programme.
Visit the Liverpool Echo Arena website for more information (will open a new window).
Public Piazza and Car Park
The development also includes a new 1,600 space multi-storey car park, and a stepped public piazza overlooking the Albert Dock to the north. The piazza itself, as well as providing views across the city towards the nearby Liverpool One development, is also capable of being used for outdoor events, and was indeed used when the giant spider "La Machine" invaded the city during the 2008 Capital of Culture celebrations.
Hotels
When the 3 star, 310 bedroom, £30million Jurys Inn Hotel opened opposite the arena in April 2008, over 80% of its rooms were booked for the first weekend alone. The 132 bedroom, £17million Staybridge Suites hotel opened next to it at the end of the year to offer serviced apartments.
Residential and other elements
The intention of the original master plan had been to construct a mixture of 1,707 residential units, 18,000 square metres of offices, and 9,000 square metres of retail/leisure uses by 2015. The dependence on residential development had been encouraged by the success of the 2003 development of 200 apartments at Kings Waterfront by Fiortho and Morrison Homes, and the popularity of city centre living which had increased since 2000. Although the current recession has delayed further development work, the ambition remains to continue with the scheme in the future.
Contact us
5th Floor, The Capital, 39 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9PP
Tel: +00 44 (0)151 600 2900
Website: www.liverpoolvision.co.uk
Email: info@liverpoolvision.co.uk