St John’s earmarked for 50-storey towers

Allied London is due to submit a series of planning applications for its £1.3bn St John’s mixed-use neighbourhood and a nearby site in Manchester by the end of July, including proposals for two 50-storey blocks amongst several other high-rise buildings.

The developer presented its plans for the 13-acre plot at a public consultation event yesterday. Alongside the development of the former ITV Granada site, Allied London gave details of its ‘vertical village’ announced at MIPIM this year, a 1,200-apartment complex by Trinity Way.

See below for site masterplan

Known as Trinity Islands, the scheme designed by Child Graddon Lewis will be spread over six interconnected blocks on two island sites totalling 4.7-acres. The tallest tower is 50 storeys, with the height stepping down in eight-storey increments across the other buildings.

Trinity Islands Allied London

Trinity Islands is made up of 1,200 apartments over six towers

According to the Allied London consultation, the St John’s development is due to be brought forward in a series of phases, with Trinity Fields forming the final phase.

The first stage is conversion of the 80,000 sq ft Bonded Warehouse into creative workspace, the Manchester Grande event hotel, and Village 1, a range of low-rise townhouses and apartment blocks.

The second phase will deliver St John’s Place, a 50-storey tower designed by SimpsonHaugh & Partners to the north of the site which is also set to feature a 12-storey aparthotel.

Meanwhile, the rest of the estate will be demolished and replaced with temporary public realm, ahead of the third phase to be brought forward in 2018; Village 2, the £78m Factory cultural venue, and three high-rise towers along the River Irwell.

Allied London would then look to deliver Trinity Islands, with the entire development scheduled to complete by 2022.

Planning applications have already been submitted for the Bonded Warehouse, and the Manchester Grande, with further applications for the other buildings due to follow by the end of July.

Speaking at the event, Michael Ingall, chief executive of Allied London, said: “This is a massively challenging development. While the design has been very natural, the mix of uses hasn’t felt natural. But it was the same with Spinningfields, and people told me that was too ambitious and look how well it is working now. We have created a real sense of place.”

A masterplan for the former ITV Granada site was approved by the council in October. The plan was developed by SimpsonHaugh & Partners for Manchester Quays Limited, a joint venture between Allied London and Manchester City Council.

Overall, St John’s is due to deliver 2,500 – 3,000 residential units, up to 600,000 sq ft of workspace, mostly aimed at creative industries, up to 400,000 sq ft of leisure space, three hotels totalling 380 bedrooms, including the Grande hotel and the aparthotel within St John’s Place, three arts and cultural buildings, and public realm including a riverside park.

See below for the masterplan of the site. Click to enlarge.

St Johns masterplan

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