Rochdale appoints Urbanbubble to manage Upperbanks

The town centre development’s 242 flats are expected to hit the rental market in days, according to the council.

Urbanbubble’s appointment to let and manage the £60m Upperbanks scheme comes a month after the collapse of the sale of the development to another BTR operator, Livingway. With Livingway out of the picture, Rochdale chose to retain the asset.

Upperbanks is situated by the junction of John Street and New Baille Street in Rochdale, in an area that has the council’s attention – in addition to developing the BTR scheme, the local authority’s Rochdale Development Agency delivered a 146-room Hampton by Hilton Hotel next door. RDA’s Rochdale Riverside retail development is also just steps away.

“These fantastic apartments offer something brand new for Rochdale and demonstrate the really high quality of developments which are being delivered as part of our regeneration programme,” said Cllr Danny Meredith, the cabinet member for regeneration and housing.

He continued: “A thriving borough needs a mix of different types of housing to cater for different people and lifestyles and these homes are a really important part of that wider offer.

“I’m delighted Urbanbubble is now on board,” he said. “The apartments not only look fantastic, but they’re right in the heart of our newly regenerated Rochdale town centre, which has a great retail and leisure offer, as well as fantastic transport links. I’m confident that they’ll prove popular.”

Michael Howard, managing director and owner of Urbanbubble, said that the flats at Upperbanks were comparable to those on offer in Manchester and were available at a “more accessible” price.

“This fantastic development really adds something new to the market here, creating even more choice for people looking to make Rochdale their home or for those who already live here and want something a bit different,” Howard said. “We will be marketing these properties very soon and we expect levels of interest to be high.”