An enormous new tower has been approved for the Northern Quarter, and will be built on an ‘under-utilised’ car park.
There’ll be a whopping 481 new apartments in the new 33-storey development, which has been designed by SimpsonHaugh, the same architects behind Beetham Tower.
The huge tower on Port Street, just off Great Ancoats Street, will create ‘a better connection between the Northern Quarter, Ancoats and Piccadilly’.
Plans for the tower were initially rejected for being too tall, but the new approved proposal is for a slightly smaller structure, with one storey removed.
The Port Street tower plans. Credit: SImpsonHaugh
Local residents had also objected to the lack of affordable housing.
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But Manchester City Council have now given the green light for Select Property’s Port Street development to go ahead.
When complete, the tower will have a mix of built-to-rent one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
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Facilities will include co-working spaces, a cinema room, a gym and lounge areas, as well as space for restaurants, cafes and bars.
Adam Price, CEO for Select Property said: “Select Property has developed an outstanding reputation for delivering some of the city’s best build to rent accommodation such as Embankment West home to Laurence Place and Exchange Point.
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“Now, works can begin on Port Street, a site which was long overdue for significant investment and promises to deliver the very best apartments the city has to offer, creating a vibrant community.
“The plans will marry this desirable location with a superb product which responds to its surroundings, bringing together Piccadilly, Ancoats and The Northern Quarter.”
Featured image: Supplied
Property
New images give sneak peak at £210m redevelopment plans for ‘eyesore’ Manchester hotel
Emily Sergeant
New images giving a sneak peak at impressive £210 million plans to redevelop a Manchester city centre hotel once branded an “eyesore” have been released.
The former Renaissance Hotel is undoubtedly one of the most divisive buildings on Deansgate, was notably once labelled an “eyesore”, and had been facing demolition since 2018 – but plans were eventually unveiled to redevelop it into a part-office, part-hotel, and part-residential complex a few years back.
The brutalist structure is set for a whopping £210 million makeover, which is being overseen by Property Alliance Group and Starwood Capital.
Developers have now released a handful of new images showing what the new offices will look like.
New images give sneak peak at £210m redevelopment plans for ‘eyesore’ Manchester hotel / Credit: Property Alliance Group
According to redevelopment plans, the offices within the building will be spread over four floors and be around 36,000 sq ft in size.
With work expected to begin on the building by the end of next month, plans also show that there will be a communal roof terrace, a wellbeing studio, bike store, and showers with changing rooms, as well as flexible office space.
Speaking on the redevelopment plans, Alex Russell – CEO at Property Alliance Group – said the project is as “important” to the company as it is to the city of Manchester.
“It demands best-in-class for design and amenities to maximise its riverside location [and] we cannot wait to relaunch this vibrant and engaging destination for the city’s residents and visitors.”
Will Lewis, who is the founder of OBI, which is the company that’s been tasked with “bringing the commercial space to market” added that he wants to see both large and small companies rent office space within the building once redevelopment is complete.
“New build office development of this nature is unique, as it enables both large corporates seeking a self-contained HQ and SMEs to take space on a floor-by-floor basis,” he explained.
“The building will boast an array of high-quality amenities including a vibrant ground floor coffee offering, wellbeing space and a stunning roof terrace and pavilion.”
Featured Image – Property Alliance Group
Property
Huge 55-storey ‘tombstone’ Oxford Road skyscraper to go ahead despite objections
Emily Sergeant
Plans to build a massive skyscraper dubbed the ‘tombstone’ in Manchester city centre are to go ahead despite objections.
The imposing 55-storey tower containing 850 student flats, which is on top of a car park off Oxford Road in the heart of the city centre, was approved all the way back in July 2021, and was soon dubbed the ‘tombstone’ by local residents who opposed the project and lodged an appeal to the Hight Court.
More than 750 letters of objection were said to have been received by planners, the MEN reports.
Local residents from the neighbouring Macintosh Village opposed the plans for the new skyscraper based on environmental grounds, and raised issues on possible exposure to contaminated construction dust, as well as querying how often a crane would go over a car park and how this would potentially prevent access to their parking spaces.
Complaints about GMS Parking Limited’s proposal for the skyscraper ranged from issues to do with its height and design, to the overall impact.
Huge 55-storey ‘tombstone’ Oxford Road skyscraper to go ahead despite objections / Credit: Glenn Howell Architects
Residents said they believed the skyscraper could impact on their mortgages and their health.
The lawsuit brought to the High Court by Mackintosh Village Management Ltd, which represents nearly 500 tenants in the development, cited six grounds which the group believed showed Manchester City Council had acted unlawfully – which included allegations that local authority officials had “seriously misled” the planning committee.
Residents believe they were misled by the planning committee advising them on parking restrictions during the demolition and construction phases – particularly during the erection or dismantling of tower cranes.
More than 750 letters of objection were said to have been received / Credit: Glenn Howell Architects
But Mr Justice Fordham at the Hight Court said this week that there was not enough evidence to overturn the approval decision, and therefore ruled against the Macintosh Village residents, as well as rejecting an application by the management company for permission to amend the pleas.
Daisy Jackson -
28th July 2022 
