Credit: via planning documents

Plans lodged for gold Manchester apartment block

M1 Piccadilly has submitted a planning application to the city council for a 15-storey development on Store Street. 

The developer is part of Faizal Atcha’s LW Group, a conglomerate of companies, specialising in franchising, textiles, property development, asset management, and sports agency.

Last year, M1 Piccadilly consulted on the distinctive Manchester proposals, first revealed by Place North West 12 months ago. 

M1, which includes Liverpool footballer Naby Keita among its investors, is working with 5plus Architects on the £17m Store Street project, which comprises 54 flats including three triplex penthouse apartments. 

The developer’s project, which has a striking gold façade, features a cinema room, gaming room, covered terraces, residents’ lounge areas, and private office space.  

A previous planning consent on the site secured by Westward Estates Developments lapsed in 2020. Westward’s scheme was a 13-storey block with 34 apartments designed by BDP. 

LW bought the site, located close to Property Alliance Group’s recently completed Oxygen, following the expiry of Westward’s permission. 

Speaking to Place North West last summer, Atcha said: “As a developer, I am interested in looking at areas that have been disregarded somewhat and bringing them into productive use. 

“On successful completion of this project, we are looking to invest more into overlooked but once-dynamic neighbourhoods in Manchester.” 

In addition, there would be one two-bedroom duplex and three triplex apartments on the upper floors, each with three bedrooms.  

Zerum is the planning consultant for the project.  

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Trump Plaza – really?

By Rich X

Words fail me on how despairing this design is. This part of Manchester deserves better than this and the utter abomination that is Oxygen.

By Peter

Tacky. Stick with glass and steel – you can’t go wrong.

By Verticality

By “covered terraces” do they mean inset balconies? New year, new balconies? Or not?

By Balcony watch

Despairingly poor

By Hobson's Choice

Tacky as anything

By Bob

Wow, that is truly awful

By Allergic to squirrels

This is putting a Gorilla next to a Gorilla. This area is becoming an absolute abomination.

By Elephant

Contextual analysis? Wait there whilst I distract you with a shiny object.

By Clue

So tacky. This area has been ruined by Oxygen anyway.

By 1981

Horrendous- this is not Dubai! I hope the planners see sense and knock this back for a rethink. Can’t get my head around the architect’s thinking unless the brief was “anything as long is it looks bling”.

By Keith

Yuck!

There is a lack of tallish building like this using traditional materials of brick and stone. These materials always have a nice sense of permanence. I fear blocks like this will look dreadful in 15 years time.

By Chris

Whilst I absolutely love this design, (it’s significantly different from the plethora of glass/steel/pre-cast concrete rectangular flat top structures which litter the City central area),,,,,, i agree with Chris when he says that there are not nearly enough brick and stone developments in Manc/Salford’s CBD….. the AO Arena, built in 1995 of Jerusalem Stone blocks, has aged very well, despite all the wet weather, pollution and two bomb attacks in 1997 & 2017.

By Bilderburg Attendee

Looks good, I like it.

Exciting times for the area.

By The Squirrel's Nuts

Gold, Yellow, Lemon, whatever color you call it I agree with all the comments above- it’s appalling.
Asset managers, footballers greedy property developers all ready to make a quick buck. The cladding is atrocious.
British contemporary architecture is almost certainly the worst I’ve seen in Europe. Manchester indeed deserves better than this.

By John

Putting some context to this, the previous application proposed a brass coloured finish as way back when there used to be a brass works on the site, 100 odd years ago …. I think this is why its been proposed

By Boom

This is one of the worst proposals I’ve ever seen. I know that we are asking for a bit of variation on the Manchester skyline but… not like this.
This is so horrendously tacky, it’s hard to see how anyone “ok’d” it.

By CFN

I agree Manchester needs more brick and stone developments.

By John

Perhaps the architect would like the apartments bedecked with chrome and smoked glass furniture and black silk sheets on the beds as well as mirrored ceilings to compliment the naff 80s exterior?

By Bernard Fender

Wow, I like this. What a change from the usual black and grey that seem to dominate so many new builds around the city. Bring it on, I say.

By Keith H

Looks like a giant mcvities gold bar

By Disgruntled Goat

Something completely different and unusual from the appartment tower blocks that has been built. I’m all for it. Get it built.

By Darren Born Bred.

Best bit about this is the podium design. Oh wait, that’s the adjacent industrial building.

By Peter

This is hardly the most offensive design I have ever seen – I am surprised to see so many commenters dog-piling in on this. Its not massively inspiring but at least its a little different to the norm.

By leave britney alone

Yeah it’s fine. Its just an internet-forum inspired pile-on of people who think about cladding and nothing else.

That said there is a resemblance to The Hallmark building in the green quarter which, with its plastic yellow striped cladding is by some distance one of the ugliest buildings erected in Manchester in recent years.

By SSC cladding fan

Yeah I’m not sure what the big fuss is about this one either.

I do think it would look tacky if they use rubbish cladding though.

By Anonymous

I really like it! moves away from the boring normality to something more attractive, it’s always dull in the North West, this perhaps gives us some light!

By Robert

Dead end area of store street, thank god someone wants to get this area built, good luck to the developer.

By Simon

Agree with the previous comments, dead end area of Store Street being developed is good news, really dont know what the fuss is about either! i live in the area and you cant walk out at night, having a development especially looking like that makes a mark and gives some life to the area, so crack on and best of luck!

By Tim

Good luck with this fantastic project!! Going to be an amazing addition to the Manchester skyline

By Adil Patel

This building will look beautiful! Manny needs a bit of gold 😉

By Habeeba

exciting new project! About time this area gets modernised its always been highly disregarded.

By Ayman

Really nice, looking forward to a bit of dubai splash in manchester!

By Jerome

Should look ok as long as the ‘gold’ panels don’t get value engineered to matt yellow.

By Matt

Yes agree with previous comments, Store street has badly needed development for a long time and this will look good on a rather dull St.

By Anonymous

On one hand, I commend them for trying something different to Manchesters usual bland glass boxes…on the other….well…

By Anonymous

Yes, it really does depend on how the cladding is engineered. It could look tacky but on the other hand I think it could look great. Brighten up Store St anyway .

By Anonymous

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