First images of new era for Manchester’s original skyscraper
A restaurant at levels 25 and 26 of the CIS Tower will complement 332,000 sq ft of office space and a host of other uses.
Lenrose Ventures, which has been appointed as development manager by the Jersey-based owners of the 28-storey Manchester icon, lodged plans for the long-awaited redevelopment project in late June.
Those plans, designed by SimpsonHaugh Architects, can now be viewed online by searching for reference number 143314/LO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
The proposals represent an “evolution” of earlier approved plans for the building put forward by Castlebrooke Investments, according to a planning statement prepared by Deloitte.
A 20,000 sq ft restaurant at levels 25 and 26 has been added into the vision for the building, while a communal external terrace, a business lounge, and coworking space are planned at level seven.
The tower was built in the 1960s and was Europe’s third tallest at the time. Credit: PNW
Some 9,000 sq ft of retail space, 36,000 sq ft of leisure accommodation, and 17,500 sq ft of office amenity space including a gym are also proposed.
A three-storey upward extension of the podium, a feature of the last set of plans, remains. Overall, the building will provide 446,000 sq ft NIA of lettable space.
Externally, the tower’s single-glazed façade will be swapped out and the solar panels on the distinctive blue service core will also be replaced.
The wider project team features: Re-form Landscape Architecture, Hann Tucker, Colliers, Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture, Curtins, Crookes Walker Consulting, Design Fire Consultants, Ramboll, TFT Consultants, Cundall, Arcaero, Gardiner & Theobald, ORSA, OurStudio, Penny Anderson Associates
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