Tribeca is a development scheme currently under-construction in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The site is located on the southern fringe of the city centre

Liverpool City Centre

Liverpool city centre is the commercial, cultural, financial and historical heart of Liverpool, England.Unlike many other cities in the United Kingdom, a ring road doesn't distinguish the city centre from the remainder of Liverpool, although an inner ring road of sorts does exist, with the recent...

. The 2.5 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 site is being developed by Urban Splash

Urban Splash

Urban Splash is a British company which regenerates decaying industrial warehouses, mills, Victorian terraced houses and other buildings. These buildings have mainly been converted into housing...

, whilst urban regeneration company Liverpool Vision

Liverpool Vision

Liverpool Vision is an Economic Development Company based in Liverpool, England. Set up in 1999, Liverpool Vision was the first Urban Regeneration Company to be founded in the United Kingdom and was tasked with leading the physical transformation of the city into the new millennium...

 have also played a major role in planning and financing the scheme. Construction of Tribeca commenced in 2008 to coincide with Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture

European Capital of Culture

The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....

 and is projected to last up until June 2014.

Toponomy

Tribeca is named so because of its triangular layout and location beneath St James' Mount. Tribeca itself is a portmanteau composed of the words "Triangles below the Cathedral

Liverpool Cathedral

Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...

". The development also shares its name with Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...

 neighbourhood of TriBeCa

TriBeCa

Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...

 ("Triangle below Canal Street"), an area which saw a tremendous rise in wealth during the 20th century. It is hoped that Tribeca, Liverpool will eventually be associated with such a change in land value and stature.

Design

Tribeca will comprise the three districts Tribeca Central, Tribeca North, and Tribeca South, all of which lie south of Great George Street. Four architects are involved in the Tribeca scheme including Alison Brooks Architects', querkraft, Riches Hawley Mikhail and Liverpool based shedkm. Developers Urban Splash have billed Tribeca as the largest residential scheme in Liverpool ever. When completed in 2014 there will be 740 new apartments and houses and over 7400 m² (79,652.9 sq ft) of commercial office space. 740 Great George street will mark the southern entrance to the development and at 46 m (150.9 ft) and 15 storeys, will be the tallest building in Tribeca. The building, designed by Alison Brooks Architects' has been described as '21st century gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

', an architectural style which compliments nearby Liverpool Cathedral

Liverpool Cathedral

Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...

 (the fifth largest cathedral in the world which looms over the Tribeca site).

Tribeca Central is proposed to be the social hub of the scheme, there will be a large public plaza

Plaza

Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...

, shops, restaurants and a hotel present in this district that was designed solely by querkraft architects. Tribeca North will be home to numerous family sized homes, whilst Tribeca South will be predominantly occupied by large apartment buildings.