Demolition to kickstart Aecom’s £150m Portugal Street towers

Demolition is set to begin to clear the proposed site of two residential towers near Piccadilly Station, being brought forward by a joint venture of Olympian Homes and Aecom Capital.

The proposals for two towers, designed by 5plus architects, were first mooted in mid-2017 and the joint venture partners, Aecom and Olympian, agreed a joint venture for the site on Portugal Street East in September last year. Aecom’s construction arm, Tishman, was last year attached as main contractor for the project.

The purchase of the site, currently home to Rammon House, a three-storey industrial unit, and a smaller storage building for Transport for Greater Manchester, was completed by the joint venture partners last October.

Demolition and site clearance is expected to take around 14 weeks, with works starting between three to six months following approval of the demolition by Manchester City Council.

Although a planning application for the main development has yet to be submitted, the joint venture partners are aiming to start the project by the end of the year, ahead of completion by the end of 2021.

Final plans for the site and planning approval depend on the council’s Portugal Street East SRF, which has yet to be published.

Initial designs for the project, revealed last year, featured two towers of 16 and 20 storeys including 340 residential units. Designed by architect 5plus, the initial proposals also included a tenant hub, gym, and commercial space at ground floor level.