Fort is ready to live again
Fort Dunlop is filling fast with just four weeks to go until its official opening.
As the Express & Star revealed in September, the revamped building is topped by a 175 metre long lawn on its roof, which will become a wildlife reserve.
Fort Dunlop developer Urban Splash is now finalising the details of the huge celebration that will mark the opening of the building on December 1, which is set to attract more than 1,000 guests with an invitation-only warehouse-style party on the sixth floor, featuring the latest dance, music and performance art.
The first office tenants have occupied space on the second floor, and the first retailers are putting the finishing touches to their outlets on the ground floor.
Meanwhile florist Tara Lees and her fiancé, Lee Campbell, started work on Wednesday fitting out their 615 sq ft unit, The Flower Room, facing the ground floor atrium.
Pictured are Tara Less of The Flower Room, Emily Jones from Urban Splash and Lee Campbell of The Flower Room outside the new look Fort Dunlop.
Birmingham entrepreneur, Sunny Sanghera, has just signed to bring his Select & Save store to Fort Dunlop, stocking everything from magazines to microwave meals within its 1,500 sq f t unit.
Each floor is well over an acre is size and the revitalised Fort Dunlop now provides 300,000 sq ft of office space, 45,000 sq ft of shopping and leisure space, a 100-bedroom hotel and 1,100 secure parking spaces. Devoted to offices, the second floor is now fully let with the exception of one unit and the third floor is now being marketed ahead of schedule, while the first floor is being made available to retail, leisure and office tenants.
Nathan Cornish is director for development at Urban Splash, and said: "We're very excited to see the ground floor filling fast with independent retail, food and drink outlets. The retail parade will be a hub of activity ."
By Simon Penfold
