All of a sudden, several years after Debenhams closed in Manchester for good, work has suddenly ramped up on its landmark former home.
The magnificent Grade II-listed building overlooks the busy Market Street in Manchester city centre, and has done since 1932.
This art deco icon was home to Debenhams until the department store collapsed into administration in 2020, closing forever the following year.
Work to transform the building seemed to stall for a long time with it ending up covered in graffiti and becoming an eyesore as of last year.
But it’s now a bustling building site again and the start of its next chapter is well underway.
ADVERTISEMENT
The vision of developer AM Alpha is to bring this beauty back to its glory days, once again called Rylands.
The ambitious project of works will include the full redevelopment the existing building.
ADVERTISEMENT
The upper floors of the building are to be converted into high-quality office space, while a shopping arcade is also to be created on the ground floor.
AM Alpha has also revealed plans for a four-storey extension to be added to the current building, which would eventually mean that Rylands boasts 10 whole floors of mixed-use space for business, commercial, and leisure use.
It was initially set to complete in 2025 but that – obviously – now seems unlikely.
ADVERTISEMENT
But as the months tick on we’ll see new life trickle back into this significant corner of Manchester.
A house on Greater Manchester’s most expensive street, with its own football pitch, has gone up for sale
Thomas Melia
A multi million pound mansion has recently gone up for sale in Greater Manchester and it’s even got its own football pitch.
There’s a six bedroom property that has just gone on the market and it’s situated on the region’s most expensive street – Barrow Lane in Hale.
Coming in at a whopping £5,950,000 and spread across four floors, the property nicely titled ‘Green Meadows’ is nestled in the affluent Trafford neighbourhood.
Starting from the (under)ground up, the basement level has everything you could ever wish for. From a private cinema room to your own personal club and bar function room… that’s my Saturday night sorted.
Wicked is going on repeat in here. Just try and stop me!Who needs the club, when the club comes to you? Credit: Rightmove
That’s not all, there’s six more rooms beneath the ground floor such as a store, plant room, recreational area and even a gym with its own sauna and treatment room attached.
As you make your way up the winding staircase to the entrance level, there’s a large reception hall, open plan kitchen, covered terrace and something I never knew I needed until today, a breakfast area.
Up another flight of stairs and onto the first floor where you’re greeted by a galleried landing that leads you off to three separate bedrooms with accompanying en suites.
Each of the six bedrooms in this house has its own en suite meaning you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own living quarters to spruce yourself up before the start of each day.
Grand bedroom in this Greater Manchester mansion.Imagine a long hot shower in there.Credit: Rightmove
The second and top floor is much similar with the final three bedrooms and a second galleried landing. I’ll have to get looking through my best selfies and see which ones I can frame on all these walls!
However, the top floor is boasting something much more impressive that, a room which many have dreamt of for years and years; a walk in wardrobe.
This gives me even more of an excuse to buy new clothes.Credit: Rightmove
Branded as a ‘Dressing Room’ on the official floor plan for the property, this walk in wardrobe has near enough, floor to ceiling storage and an island unit in the middle for, you guessed it, even more storage.
This mansion’s quarters spans just under one acre of land, 0.73 acres to be exact, and the outside of the house features a grand garden space that’s just as interesting.
As you exit the back of the property, after walking out onto the tiled beginning of the garden, your eyes can’t help but fixate on the almost full scale football pitch dominating the green space.
Alongside the main building, there’s a double garage and behind that you’ll find a mini basketball court, that’ll have you dusting off your Jordans and shooting some hoops in no time.
Now we know not everyone is fortunate enough to afford such grand houses like these, but when it’s online and right in our faces, it’d be rude not to have a nosey, right?
To view the extensive property for yourself including the full floor plan and more pictures, head over to the listing page on Rightmove HERE.
Behind the doors of the eclectic £1.95m Victorian villa on the market in a leafy Manchester suburb
Emily Sergeant
Fancy a look inside an eclectic Victorian villa that’s currently on the market in a sought-after Manchester suburb?
The only thing is, you’ll need the small matter of £1.95 million before you can call it yours.
Of course, it goes without saying that the vast majority of people reading this article won’t have £1.95 million just sitting in their bank accounts right now, but if like us, you’ve got no shame in admitting you love looking at houses you can’t afford in places you’ll probably never live, then allow us to introduce you to this absolute stunner.
Take a look behind the grand front door of one of the finest properties the Manchester housing market has to offer at the moment.
This eclectic Victorian villa is on the market in a leafy Manchester suburb for £1.95m / Credit: Inigo (via Rightmove)
This stunning detached villa is situated on a prime residential street in Whalley Range, which is one of south Manchester’s affluent suburbs, known and loved for its wide range of amenities, good local schools, public transport links across Greater Manchester, and green spaces such as the popular Alexandra Park.
Built in 1885, the house sits among a number of grand Victorian villas built around Alexandra Park to serve the wealthy merchants and bankers looking to escape the smog of city centre.
Spanning some 3,854 sq ft, the main house has seven bedrooms and ample living space arranged across four floors, all of which estate agents describe as being “impeccably designed”, while at its rear is a recently-renovated annexe, and a landscaped garden with an established kitchen garden.
While still being steeped in history, the house has undergone an extensive restoration programme over the past decade by its current owner.
The property has undergone extensive restorations over the last decade / Credit: Inigo (via Rightmove)
Decorated to the highest of standards across all four floors, the current owner has managed to respect the Victorian sensibilities of the building, while still introducing a rich colour and material palette.
You enter the historic villa through the arched entry of the original porch, with all of the rooms and staircases situated off the grand hallway.
Some of the property’s stand-out features have to be the array of original fireplaces and bay windows, ornate ceilings, and decorative tiled floors, as well as the accommodations themselves, of course, which include a bespoke kitchen-diner, and seven spacious bedrooms, many with en-suite bathrooms and even one with a purpose-built walk-in-wardrobe.
If all of that wasn’t impressive enough as it is, the property also boasts its very-own retro cinema room and treatment space on the lower ground floor too.
Then, through a Victorian garden wall is where you’ll find the coach house, which sits separate from the main house, and has recently been built as a standalone guest space – with a kitchen, shower room, and mezzanine sleeping area above.
The property’s excellence only continues when you step outside into the garden / Credit: Inigo (via Rightmove)
The property’s excellence only continues when you step outside into the garden.
The garden has been landscaped to make the most of its large corner plot, with a decked area that unfolds from the sunroom and leads down to a lawn that’s bordered by clipped privacy hedging.
The star of the show, however, has to be the kitchen garden, which the current owner has implemented in raised beds, partly shaded by established climbing grape vines which you’ll find are full of fruit in the summer.
This property on Alexandra Road South is currently on the market with London-based boutique estate agents, Inigo, for a whopping £1.95 million, and if you fancy taking a closer look, then you can contact the property company to arrange a viewing.
Or you could just take the cheaper route instead and have a nosey at the Rightmove link here.
Daisy Jackson -
29th November 2024 
