Drum Property Group has progressed its development plans for a Pacific Quay waterfront site with the submission of a major planning application to Glasgow City Council.

The developer is working with Scottish Enterprise to develop a 7.5-acre site at Pacific Drive - which lies at the heart of Glasgow’s fast-growing Pacific Quay and forms a significant part of the final stages of the wider masterplan for the development area.

Drum’s £30 million proposals for this next development phase are for a mixed-use site bringing together high quality homes and offices with restaurants and bars – as well as a new £10m urban whisky distillery, bottling plant and visitor centre operated by Douglas Laing & Co.

The new development will sit alongside the Canting Basin of the former Prince’s Dock and is set to provide a natural centrepiece for the wider Pacific Quay area. Future phases planned by Drum will see additional business space and amenities being developed, delivering a £67m project by completion.

Graeme Bone, group managing director of Drum, said: “This is a hugely important planning application for Pacific Quay, which has seen unprecedented growth during the last decade and is now rightly regarded as Scotland’s most important location for broadcasting, media and creative industries.

“Our proposals combine high quality residential and office development with a café culture, bringing amenities to an area which currently lacks facilities and services and is seldom occupied after 5 pm. We want this to be a vibrant social quarter which will be visited, occupied and enjoyed during the day, evening and night, creating a genuine sense of identity and excitement both within and outside of the workplace.

“We now have the opportunity to realise the ambition of Scottish Enterprise to deliver an attractive and vibrant destination in the very heart of Pacific Quay, bringing a site which has lain empty for more than 30 years back to life.”

Formerly part of the commercial dock operated by Clyde Port Authority, Pacific Quay was used for the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988 before being transformed into one of Scotland’s most successful new business and leisure destinations. The area is now home to the headquarters of BBC Scotland and STV, and sits adjacent to the SSE Hydro and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

Drum’s proposals for this development phase will create a high quality living and working environment that is active throughout the day and evening. Plans include 20,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office space, 60 residential homes and apartments as well as café and restaurant units overlooking the Canting Basin.

Proposals also include a new £10m distillery with a visitor centre and restaurant operated by Douglas Laing & Co which is set to bring added commercial and tourist interest to the area.

Looking forward to the new distillery, Cara Laing, the company’s director of whisky, said: “We have long held an ambition for the company to operate its own distillery and bottling operation in Glasgow and our proposals will bring whisky distilling back to the south side of the city.

“We will be creating welcome jobs and generating significant additional high-value exports - as well as becoming an additional high profile tourist attraction for the city. We are proud of our Glasgow heritage and are delighted to be part of this project on the banks of the Clyde, right in the very heart of Glasgow.”

Scottish Enterprise acquired the wider Pacific Quay area in 1991 and has been instrumental in bringing together a wide range of investment partners to progress the development.

Allan McQuade, business infrastructure director at Scottish Enterprise, added: “This project represents an exciting opportunity to create an outstanding development at a key strategic site for Glasgow, bringing new opportunities for economic growth to the city and more widely across Scotland.

“This is one of the key remaining waterfront sites to be developed in Glasgow, and follows hot-on-the-heels of Barclay’s announcement to develop a new state-of-the-art campus at Drum’s Buchanan Wharf site, south of the Clyde. We look forward to working with Drum and other occupiers in the area to realise our ambitious vision for Pacific Quay.”

The Pacific Drive planning application follows the announcement in July of a multi-million pound deal with Barclays Bank to develop a new state-of-the art campus headquarters at Drum’s Buchanan Wharf site - another significant Clydeside development.

The Evolution of Pacific Quay – Timeline

1890s

The area now known as Pacific Quay was previously Cessnock Dock and then, Prince’s Dock following a Royal opening by the prince of York in 1897. The Canting Basin (the area of water where the ships used to turn) is now all that remains of the original site.

1900s

Prince’s Dock contained 35 acres of water space and its bustling quays were equipped with two-storey warehouses, cranes, coal hoists and railway sidings. It cost the Clyde Navigation Trust almost £1 million to build and equip.

1970s

Clyde Port Authority ceases use of Prince’s Dock as a commercial dock as the volume of shipping using the Upper Clyde declined with the onset of containerization.

1988

The site’s ‘dock fingers’ were in-filled allowing it to be used for the Glasgow Garden Festival which attracted 4.3 million visitors over 152 days.

1991

Scottish Enterprise (SE) acquires control of a 23 hectare landholding on the site, driven by a need to develop strategic for business locations across the city. The site was subsequently rebranded Pacific Quay.

1998

Joint venture company and SE-backed Pacific Quay Developments Ltd completes Pacific Quay Business Park - the first phase of the development. This is now home to a diverse range of tenants including the Scottish Police Services and radio station Capital Scotland.

2002

Glasgow Science Centre, Scotland’s flagship Millennium project opens at Pacific Quay. It is housed in three iconic buildings – the Science Mall, Cineworld IMAX Theatre and the Glasgow Tower.

2006

The second phase development is completed with the opening of STVs new headquarters which houses 300 staff as well as associated broadcasting and technology companies.

2007

BBC Scotland’s 300,000 sq. ft. headquarters is opened accommodating more than 1200 staff and recognised as one of Europe’s most advanced broadcasting centres.

2008

The Medius building, which provides specialist accommodation for Digital Media business opens, and is now the Glasgow HQ for BIP Solutions ltd hosting 200 staff.

2009

The Hub building opens which brings together a mix of creative tenants including Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design studios, and communications company Weber Shandwick.

2010

SE acquires a further six hectares landholding at Pacific Quay which strengthens the role of the delivery of the project.

2018

Drum Property Group submits ambitious plans to create a new mixed-use waterfront development at Pacific Drive.