In my student days in the early 80's, the closure of Eric's in Mathew Street seemed a terminal blow to the resurgence of the music industry in the city after the glory years (or so I was told by my parents) of the 60's music scene in Liverpool.
Likewise starting out as an aspiring property lawyer in Liverpool in 1985 seemed a challenging prospect indeed. The downturn in the market in the early 90's made the prospect even more daunting.
The resurgence though of Liverpool's fortunes starting from the later 90's has been little short of incredible, justifying the confidence we've had in the offering here in terms of lifestyle for office occupiers both in terms of the cultural and leisure offering.
Today with the cultural scene in Liverpool as vibrant and diverse as ever and the City landscape changing hugely with the self evident construction activity going on an issue for office developers is sourcing sufficient large occupiers for the various large office schemes now available.
Simply shifting service sector professional occupiers from one scheme to another to sustain the latest market offering is not a long term solution .There needs to be even greater emphasis on attracting further significant head office type occupiers to Liverpool to sustain demand and rental levels for the high quality space that is now coming to market.
The Public and Private sector are making massive efforts to 'sell' Liverpool on a European level and beyond as was clear to anyone attending MPIM this year - the portrait of Liverpool presented as a vibrant City with much to offer the developing business was impressive indeed- but the need for sustained and unstinting efforts to continue this trend can't and shouldn't be underestimated.
Massive progress has been made in the last 5 years but the next 5 may be even more vital in re establishing Liverpool to its place as a key destination in the UK for students and commerce alike.
The challenge is only just beginning.
Clive Bleasdale is Head of Property at Weightmans