The redevelopment of the Clyde corridor began with the building of the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre (SECC) in 1985. SECC's 64 acre site, which is predominantly surface car parks, now sits between three major development projects: the Financial district on the Broomielaw to the east, Glasgow Harbour to the west and Pacific Quay to the south.

In February 2003, SECC, with financial assistance from Scottish Enterprise, appointed Page and Park Architects together with landscape architects, Ian White Associates to prepare a Master Plan for the SECC site. The objective was to develop the car parks to generate capital receipts which would in turn contribute towards the creation of new facilities to cater for SECC's future growth.

A number of critical issues were identified at the outset:
· SECC needed to expand the range and number of core activities through the addition of a new purpose built entertainment arena and outdoor events space;
· The strategy for the 'redensification' of the SECC site as outlined in Glasgow City Council's City Plan would be adopted. This allows the restriction that limits the use of SECC land to exhibition and conference related purposes only to be lifted;
· A strategic Master Plan was required to maximise the value release and to identify the optimum locations for the new facilities;
· The strategy had to take into account and respond to the City's strategic thinking for all modes of transport to and from the site and make recommendations for the future;
· All development work had to be carried out without affecting the continuing operations of the SECC;
· Everything had to be achieved in the context of the technical and engineering constraints of the site.

The Master Plan also had to take into account the corresponding plans and development initiatives for the adjacent developments.

With the completion of the Master Plan, the project has been given its own identity to distinguish the development programme from the core business activities of the SECC. It is called QD2, an abbreviation of Queen's Dock 2, reflecting this as the second redevelopment of Queen's Dock.