Manchester Life prepares to start next site
The joint venture between Manchester City Council and Abu Dhabi United Group said it will start construction in the autumn on 199 build-to-rent apartments and townhouses at Blossom Street, Ancoats.
Planning consent was granted by Manchester City Council in May for the scheme, designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.
The site is bounded by Blossom Street, Bengal Street, Sherratt Street and George Leigh Street.
There will be 185 flats and 14 townhouses with front doors on George Leigh Street, as well as four commercial units at ground floor level.
This was the fifth scheme to come forward from the powerful public-private partnership. Abu Dhabi United Group owns Manchester City FC. The Manchester Life development vehicle plans to deliver an initial 900 units in the Ancoats and New Islington areas of east Manchester, near the football club’s Etihad Stadium, by 2027.
There are other Manchester Life projects ongoing at New Union Street, Murrays’ Mills, Jersey Street and Hood Street. The first apartments are due to be completed by the JV in the autumn of 2017.
The Blossom Street development is due to be completed by late 2018. The contractor has not been named yet.
This is good news for manchester
By Demolition dave
Quite like what they are doing in Ancoats.They are creating a proper community and things look promising there.I think that this will be the place to live in ten years time. The square needs a market though.
By Elephant
Community? A lovely private rented sector community… great if you’re late 20s and earning decent money… for a few years. Then settle down somewhere with a proper community.
By zebith
Zebith please define proper community? Community is where you feel at home isn’t it.
By Elephant
An element of it is somewhere to settle. Very few people living in that area are going to settle there, therefore, its more of a transient “place to live” than the centre of “a community”
By zebith
Elephant, please define home. A home is where you feel a sense of community isn’t it.
By Lampshade
Zebith you are probably right, but established communities take years to come about. We are not well blessed with Central Manchester established areas, so this is a start.
By Elephant
Years? So, say 3 years from now… most of the people who currently live there will have mostly moved out. And 3 years after that those people will have. And so on.
Point is, the place is a PRS dumping ground, so stuff is getting built, but it will predominantly inhabited by 20-something young professionals there for its convenience for the city centre. Then when they want community they’ll move on somewhere else.
By zebith
How do we get the opportunity to tender please ? – graham@newbuildgroup.uk http://www.selfbuildukltd.co.uk – see ” Developer Range ” with 24:7 Living
By Graham Farrall
Zebith you have a point, but what do we do in Central Manchester, just build for the post student crowd? It is hard to get families into Manchester because there isn’t the infrastructure. We don’t even have a decent park. I have been advocating the re patriation of the parts of South Manchester ghettoised by students on here a few times. Fallowfield, Withington and Victoria Park should be cleaned up to draw back families. They have started with the Toast rack development to try to attract a different demograph.
By Elephant
If we truely want to build communities, we shouldn’t be throwing stuff up with overseas PRS cash. Particularly so when the the majority of the units (one/two bed flats with negligible storage) aren’t suitable for families. Those ones that have gone in that could accommodate families are few and far between and hideously expensive for the area (I’m thinking particularly of the HoUSe units).
Shared ownership, Rent to Buy, or failing that, affordable rents, are a better answer to keep people in areas for the longer term. The first stuff in New Islington (e.g. Chips) was done on this basis, but its been dropped in favour of getting the numbers in.
By zebith
I agree that the CHIPS building was originally a welcome change and they are now getting carried away in New Islington. I quite like the HoUSe concept and the ones built near to Victoria Mill look good near to the water. Those strange Dutch style houses had a lot of character, but they only built a few which was a shame, as they have matured well.
By Elephant