Developer rows back on Fortis Quay office-to-resi

Fortis Group had planned to repurpose two former office blocks into apartments at Salford Quays, but due to viability concerns now wants to demolish the buildings and construct two towers comprising 336 flats. 

Under consented plans for the scheme known as Fortis Quay, the developer was to convert the two former Bruntwood-owned office buildings, Furness House and Custom House, into 137 apartments. These would have sat alongside two proposed new-build towers known as Northill and Grapnel in a four-block residential cluster. 

Work started to build the 27-storey Northill Tower part of the scheme in 2018, and the two former offices, which wrap around the Northill tower, had been stripped back to their concrete frames in preparation for the office-to-residential conversion.

However, the refurbishment element of the proposal has since been deemed unviable and a revised application has been submitted to Salford City Council, according to a planning statement produced by Fortis’ advisory firm YoungRPS. 

“During delivery of the development it has become apparent that conversion of [Custom House and Furness House] is not financially viable. The current application is, therefore, effectively to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with two new residential blocks,” the statement said. 

The tallest tower at Fortis Quay, Northill, is almost complete

Under the fresh proposals, the new-build blocks that would replace Furness House and Custom House would be known as Herreshoff and Danforth and would reach 20 and 23 storeys respectively.

Hodder + Partners is the architect for the revised scheme. 

The two other elements of the development are Northill, which comprises 290 apartments across 27 storeys, and Grapnel, a 13-storey block providing 272 apartments. Both are currently under construction with contractor Beaumont Morgan on site.

The addition of the Danforth and Herreshoff towers would take the total number of apartments at Fortis Quay to 898. 

Kieran Moore, managing director of Fortis, said: “The revised scheme would be hugely beneficial to the local area, increasing the number of units within the development which highlights the popularity and demand for residential housing in Salford.

Furthermore, the scheme will be more prestigious for the area and the value of the development will significantly increase. Fortis is proud to be part of such an exciting scheme which we believe will be key in the transformation of Salford Quays.”

The former office buildings next to the Northill tower had been stripped to their concrete frames