PAG secures Gateway 2 nod for One Cathedral Square
The path is now clear for the 27-storey residential tower, the centrepiece of Property Alliance Group’s development of the Renaissance site off Manchester’s Deansgate.
The Building Safety Regulator has now given clearance for the tower, Gateway 2 being an extra level developers must go to in order to demonstrate enhanced safety measures for tall buildings.
Contractor Domis and Project Four led PAG through the process. PAG hopes to be on site this year with the development.
Connor Robinson, projects director at PAG, posted on Linkedin: “This is a huge milestone for the project and one we’re proud to have reached.
“Anyone involved in the Gateway process will know it’s not easy, it’s been demanding, with more than its fair share of challenges, requiring close collaboration, rigorous technical review and a collective commitment to meeting the highest possible design standards.
“One Cathedral Square and the wider Renaissance development means a great deal to us. With the Treehouse Hotel now open and operating and One Cathedral Square securing full Gateway 2 approval, it’s incredibly rewarding to see our vision for this key part of the city take another positive step forward.”
Approval was given in March 2023 for a three-part development, around a year after PAG and partner Starwood Capital bought the site from Urban & Civic.
Along with the residential tower, the scheme includes the four-star Treehouse hotel – a redevelopment of the 1970s-built hotel already on-site – and a 50,000sq ft office building.
Jon Matthews Architects is the designer of the tower. As set out at the planning stage, the building will offer a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and will be stepped in height providing several rooftop terraces. Ground-floor retail units, a cinema room, a gym, and a lounge also feature.
