Aytoun Street to become Kampus

Joint venture partners Capital & Centric and Henry Boot Developments are rebranding their 2.3-acre development site in Manchester city centre to Kampus and have released a CGI of their proposals.

The JV was selected as the preferred purchaser of Manchester Metropolitan University’s former Aytoun Street site in March 2014. The plot currently has 250,000 sq ft of vacant space across seven university buildings.

A strategic regeneration framework for the site was approved by the Manchester City Council executive on Wednesday. The plan focuses on a mix of uses, including residential, restaurants, hotels and aparthotels, along with workspace and ground floor retail activity to tie-in with the nearby Village.

Listed buildings Minto & Turner and Minshull House will be retained, and have been earmarked in the framework as suitable for independent uses such as workspace, gallery space, and restaurants.

The final scheme is expected to total 450,000 sq ft, providing up to 500 homes and two hotels. The current library building is expected to be converted into offices, and the 1960s tower building used to house the hotel and apartments. The former lecture building will be demolished to make way for a public realm space.

The framework will now be the subject of a public consultation in the coming months.