Salboy cracks on with £195m Waterhouse Gardens

DOMIS has started groundworks on the long-awaited regeneration of the old Boddingtons Brewery site off Dutton Street in Manchester to deliver the mixed-use scheme.

Architect Studio Power designed the project, which has a GDV of £195m, on behalf of Salboy.

Named in homage to Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse, Waterhouse Gardens will provide 556 fully-funded city centre homes and 31,000 sq ft of commercial and retail space across five buildings.

Residents will also have access to a clubhouse featuring swimming pools, sports courts, lounge and games rooms, private dining areas, and a cinema, as well as meeting rooms and workspaces.

Plans feature a residents’ clubhouse. Credit: via Mountview Communications

Simon Ismail, co-founder & managing director of Salboy, said: “Waterhouse Gardens will be a residential-led, mixed-use regeneration project that pays close attention to creating an appealing landscaped environment where young people buy and rent their homes, as well as study, begin or progress their careers, and socialise, all within easy reach of Manchester’s vibrant city centre.

“We’ve specifically and painstakingly designed a new local neighbourhood that’ll suit anyone – renters and owners alike – who is seeking a vibrant, convenient, city-central lifestyle where what they need and want is available on site at a consistently high quality and easy access.”

The site, which sits next to Manchester College’s city centre campus, is currently being used as a car park following the closure of Boddingtons Brewery in 2005 and its subsequent demolition in 2007.

Salboy acquired the 52,700 sq ft plot from Realty Estates last December, taking over the project from Prosperity UX.

Prosperity was granted planning permission for its plans for 556 homes and 37,000 sq ft of commercial and retail space in February 2019. However, construction never started before the company’s collapse in May 2021.

Salboy acquired the site last December. Credit: via Mountview Communications

Property consultant Graham + Sibbald is advising Salboy on the revised plans for the commercial space within Waterhouse Gardens. Layer.Studio is the landscape architect. The project team also includes project manager and cost management consultant Artal, M&E engineer Novo, fire consultant DFC, and transport consultant SLR.

Conor Mulloy, director at Graham + Sibbald, said: “The design of the development together with the attention to detail on items such as the landscaping will ensure this brand new neighbourhood will be hugely attractive to both residents and commercial operators alike.

“With over 31,000 sq ft of quality commercial space being created with an abundance of well-designed and landscaped external seating areas, particularly along Central Avenue, Waterhouse Gardens will be an exciting opportunity for bars and restaurants seeking space within the city”, he continued.

“These new operators will not only benefit from the rapidly growing residential population but also the immediately adjacent AO Arena.

“In turn, they will bring vibrancy and activity to the area which will enhance the neighbourhood and local environment even further.”

Assael Architecture was behind the original plans for the scheme, which has since been revised and modernised.

Deloitte was the planning consultant who secured planning permission in 2019. The project team also included Wardell Armstrong, Hilson Moran, Gleeds, Future City, Urban Bubble, Cushman & Wakefield, and SK Transport.