The group behind what could become Liverpool's tallest building has made the surprise decision to put the site of the development's sister tower up for sale.
Both the Ovatus I and II buildings were set to be built on Old Hall Street in the city centre, with Ovatus II on course to become the city's highest , towering above all other structures at 48 storeys, featuring 530 apartments.
That would mean it becoming 480ft tall, eight storeys higher than the city's current tallest, the nearby West Tower - officially making it a skyscraper.
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But an off-market advert on property investment website Sourced appears to show the site of the shorter Ovatus I tower, set to be 27 storeys high, up for sale at a price of £3.5m.
While a planning decision for the taller Ovatus II is yet to be determined by the council, the Ovatus I site has permission that was approved by Liverpool City Council back in April 2017, as BusinessLive reports .
Listing the investment opportunity with a "gross build cost" of approximately £22.3m, the online advert said: "Sourced are pleased to present this fantastic investment opportunity in a prime area of Liverpool consisting of a tower block with 168 units.
"The L3 postcode around this development has seen a 20% growth in the last five years.
"There are also many great schools and universities within walking distance to the property. Planning passed at LCC committee April 2017."
Back in February 2017, developers Prospect Capital and Wilcocks and Wilcocks announced their plan to erect the tower on the site of the mirrored glass data centre at the corner of Old Hall Street.
They said at the time that the double tower project had been fully funded, adding that work on the first tower could start as early as April, subject to planning permission.
A public consultation over the plans for Ovatus II was launched in May last year.
A source close to Prospect Capital said on Wednesday that planning was still "in the pipeline" for Ovatus II, and that it was still hoped to become the tallest building in the city at 48 floors.
It's understood the developers want to keep the name 'Ovatus' for both towers, despite the decision to put one of them up for sale.
Mr Blackwell and Martin Wilcocks, of Wilcocks and Wilcocks, have worked together on several city projects including the conversion of the 1970s office block 8 Water Street into apartments.
They bought the 122 Old Hall Street site , including the Shop Direct data centre, for £3.25m in 2016.
At the time, Wilcocks and Wilcocks said the first Ovatus tower had secured enough pre-sales to ensure it would be fully occupied on completion.
Wilcocks and Wilcocks declined to comment.
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