Renaker acquires 55-storey Salford skyscraper site
The developer has completed the purchase of the site of a long-proposed 542-apartment tower in the city’s Greengate quarter from Zentra Group, formerly One Heritage Group.
Renaker, which has already delivered two skyscrapers at Greengate, stepped into acquire the plot after talks between Zentra and developer Silverlane broke down.
Silverlane became involved in the 55-storey project as development partner in 2023 but protracted negotiations failed to bear fruit.
The backstory
Renaker’s acquisition of the site adds to its growing pipeline of skyscrapers in Manchester and Salford and could bring to an end a long-running saga surrounding the tower, which has been in the works since 2019 and has endured several false dawns.
It is understood Renaker will redesign the scheme, which would sit next to Legacie’s recently completed Embankment Exchange.
Zentra first won planning permission for the project in January 2020 but had struggled to get on site despite twice appointing contractors for the scheme.
Laing O’Rourke was selected as preferred contractor for the tower, signing a pre-construction services agreement in 2020. However, the contractor walked away from the project the following year and Midgard was drafted in.
BCEGI was the contractor most recently attached to the scheme, designed by OMI Architects.
What next for Zentra?
Now the sale to Renaker has completed, Zentra said has plans to scale up across the North over the coming years. The firm currently has a pipeline including One Victoria in Manchester, which will provide 129 apartments, and a 40-unit scheme in New Islington. Recently completed schemes include residential buildings in Bolton, Oldham, and Stockport.
Zentra development director Ben Scandrett, said: “Zentra has significant plans to boost the provision of high quality accommodation in Greater Manchester and across the North within all tenures.
“We are encountering huge appetite from customers and partners for genuinely high quality homes and this is creating real opportunities for investors.”
He added: “Our success in Salford reflects the capability of our professional team, commitment to partnership working and investor confidence in our approach.
According to an RNS filing, Zentra has secured a £350,000 fee as development manager through the sale. The purchase price was undisclosed.
Zentra was represented by CBRE in an agency capacity and law firm Shakespeare Martineau.
“Scheme will be redesigned”. Oh boy, I forsee yet another checkerboard cuboid coming our way. Please prove me wrong Renaker
By Anonymous
And there goes the great design! Replaced by a boring Simpson Haugh copy and paste
By Steve
Will be good to see this come forward
By Anonymous
Good news. Might actually get built now.
Renaker have actually delivered 4 skyscrapers in the area.
By ALL
Good to see this site moving again. Credit to Zentra for getting a city centre site of this scale through planning, Renaker are an obvious partner to take it on from here. More positive news for Greengate!
By Anonymous
At least this will get built now, but a statement tower please. If Relentless and Salboy can do it then so can Renaker. If anyone remembers the original proposal (it was stunning) something like that please. I wasn’t part of the moaning about glass boxes brigade, but i think im getting there now, especially after seeing that stunner proposed in Liverpool. We need a higher bar here going forward.
By Bob
Does that mean the architectural interest is going to be sucked out of the proposal?
By MJC
A moment of thought for those who genuinely believed One Heritage Tower was actually going to be built. I have spent years on here telling the masses that it would never be built, t’was all but a fantasy. Looking forward to a proper local developer actually get a tower built here.
By Big Dub
Let me guess, redesigned by SimpsonHaugh, extruded square/rectangle/circle checker glass facade…..
By Egg
Of course they’re going to redesign. Must be giving them palpitations that there’s no checkerboard windows or flat roof.
In all seriousness, this was the only tower of any design merit. Sad news that we’ll get a bland block in its place.
By Tom
Glad to get it moving – shame to lose this design tho as the rest of Greengate is pretty average architecture (would expect a lot better from DCM but unsurprised that OMI can’t do much of great class… 🙁 and please no SimpsonHaugh!!!)
By Yay-ish
Would’ve been nice to keep that original design. I dare say the usual suspects will get the job now and and cookie cut from the limited book of templates.
By Anonymous
This is genuinely great news! Chuffed something is happening with this site & Renaker will be the developer / contractor to get it done…
Having lived in Renaker developments for the last 9 years, from Alto & GreenGate (2yrs) to Deansgate Square (5yrs) & Elizabeth Tower, I can vouch first hand for the quality of homes they deliver. The amenities, apartment sizes, internal specification & landscaping they deliver is incomparable to other sites & developers.
I’ve had friends live in other towers like Oxygen, Axis & Viadux – whilst great developments for different reasons, they just feel a bit poor-boy copy cat when it comes to the final product. I understand that Renaker are somewhat unique in their ability to ‘share’ profit between the construction & development businesses; allowing them to perhaps exceed competition in apartment specification, but no one delivers apartment sizes in the City to the same spacious standards that Renaker do. I hope they reconsider the OMI scheme and remain flexible to target number of homes to deliver, on the basis of sizing the apartments similar to that seen at Deansgate – National Space Standards (plus!) – homes designed to accommodate a couple / family with space to grow is what will see this City continue to thrive.
Fingers crossed!
By Renaker Fanboy & Salfordian
How much is the ‘loan’ for this one going to cost us?
By Anonymous
Please don’t let it be another S&H tower
By Mike
Please no more Simpson Haugh
By Anonymous
Elizabeth tower is nice, plus 360 and the Blade. They can do interesting when they want to do here’s hoping that they want to. Also add more floors, 55 around Manchester these days is mid height !
By Anonymous
What about affordable social housing for the real people of Salford and Manchester?
By Anonymous
No SH copy and paste jobs PLEASE
By Heaton Chapel
No doubt they will be aiming to remove all the social housing cheaper apartments again to maximise their tax free profits.
By Anonymous
I wish it would be an extension of Colliers Yard including the opposite surface car parking area and Aldridge warehouse. So, the Bankside Boulevard can be extended to the arch bridge. And the second phase of Greengate Park can be completed following the completion of the above mentioned sites.
By Martina
Renekar please do us a solid 80 floor tower with a point at the top like the one heritage tower, something unique!
By Anonymous
Please no checkerboard cheap design
By Pierce
At least it will now get built. Although the original design was great, a picture of a great tower, is neither use nor ornament.
By Elephant
There no Optimised for Simpson Haugh because they actually boring design like very box skyscraper like he did design of Oxygen tower was rejected by the Manchester city council but I just don’t want the same coz it completely waste of time. I want a original proposal please please 🙏
By G J Kitchener
Bob, it’s a drawing… Believe it when I see it.
By Anonymous
There needs to be a change of architects in Manchester. The designs continually look alike and there is a genuine lack of talent, imagination, inspiration. Perhaps all of these at the same time. Manchester needs to bring in a world renowned architect like Foster and Partners of Renzi. Something that will really put Manchester on the map. Other cities do it why not Manchester. And yes, please no more SimpsonHaugh.
By John
Yay! Yet another dull renaker tower! Zzz…
By Anonymous
For those who are worried about SH to be an architect, don’t forget Denton Corker Marshall is the designer of Colliers Yard, if this district is going to be developed as a whole, I assume Denton will keep doing its job.
By Martina