Vita Group tables plans for co-living scheme at Glasgow’s Met Tower

Vita Group has acquired Glasgow’s famous Met Tower, with plans to turn the building into homes for co-living.

The developer said it wants to apply its “Union” co-living concept to the site following the use of the model on a 1,600-home development in Manchester.

The news comes a year after the site’s former owner, Bruntwood Scitech, scrapped plans designed by architect Cooper Cromar to turn the 14-storey building into offices.

Completed in 1964, the grade B-listed Met Tower is a prominent landmark in Glasgow city centre, positioned directly behind George Square and known since 2014 for a pink covering on its facade emblazoned with the slogan “People Make Glasgow”.

Vita Group said it wants to to turn the building, which has now been vacant for 10 years, into a “thriving new community of city centre professionals”.

The firm’s Union concept offers apartments of various sizes with shared, communal facilities. The Union Manchester scheme, which opened this year, includes co-working areas, a residents’ bar, wellness facilities and lounges.

Vita said it was working up detailed plans for the Met Tower, which would go out to consultation “as as possible”. The proposals are said to include creating “high-quality communal spaces”, improving connections between existing and new structures, and the surrounding streets.

Glasgow council leader Susan Aitken said the firm’s acquisition of the building was “fantastic news for the future of a listed Glasgow landmark”.

She added: “Vita’s plans will bring what is an emerging accommodation concept to Glasgow, one that’s been successful elsewhere and which can meet the needs of many younger residents. 

“When it first opened in the early 1960s, the Met Tower was a symbol of a new and modern Glasgow. I look forward to it once again becoming a potent symbol of our changing city centre.”

Vita Group chief operating officer Max Bielby added: “Glasgow is a city with exceptional energy, creativity and talent, and the Met Tower is an iconic part of its skyline.

”We see a real opportunity to explore how our Union concept could bring much-needed accommodation to the heart of the city, supporting its employment base, culture and social scene.”