SNEAK PEEK | Latest CGIs of Vita’s £191m Manchester co-living block
Main contractor Renaker is well underway on the 1,552-bed, two-tower Union, with the first block on track to complete next spring.
Located within Allied London’s £1bn St John’s district, Vita Group’s Union will offer a mixture of studio apartments and two-bed, three-bed, and four-bed clusters.
These clusters will provide each bedroom with its own ensuite bathroom, double bed, and desk space. There will be a shared kitchen for each of the clusters.
In total, there will be 151 four-bed co-living clusters, 214 three-bed ones, 30 two-bed, and 242 studios.
Amenities on offer for those residing at Union include coworking space, private dining areas, a lounge, and a gym. The ground floor of Union will also boast 4,000+ sq ft of leisure and hospitality space.
Newly released CGIs, found in the gallery below, give a taste of what the project will look like when it opens to residents. Click on any image to launch the gallery. All images courtesy of Vita Group.
- The reception area at Union.
- The hub space at Union.
- One of the bedrooms within a cluster.
- A shared kitchen at Union.
Union was designed by Denton Corker Marshall. The £191m required for the building of Union has been provided via a development loan from Cain International PGIM Real Estate, which was agreed in December 2021.
Vita Group Chief Brand Officer, David Ancell said: “Union has been specifically designed around the needs of Manchester’s workforce, the lifeblood of the city, the graduates powering our tech and creative industries, the retail and hospitality superstars, and those working in public services such as nursing.
“First and foremost, it’s been designed to be accessible, priced in line with graduate salaries, it’s also been designed to solve problems these audiences face when renting,” Ancell continued.
He added later: “We can’t wait to showcase more of Union as we edge closer to opening next year.”
- The second tower of Union in April 2023. Credit: PNW
- View of Union from St John's Gardens. Credit: PNW
Whilst I do like these and admittedly they have turned out better than hoped Denton Corker Marshall are brilliant architects. They can do much better than this. The Renaker towers at Greengate also don’t show their true abilities. We need more proposals from them which are inline with 1 New York Street and CJC.
By Andrew
@Andrew – architects are led by developers nowadays, not the other way round
By big sky
Student accommodation by another name. Should never have been consented here plus the bigger scandal is that the proximity of this cheapo housing has probably massively ramped up costs on The Factory which has had stringent soundproofing requirements imposed upon it.
By Not impressed
A lazy and banal design. I agree, Denton Corker can do much better than this. Manchester is full of constructions of this kind destined to be pull down in 20 years time.
By John
The white and gray cladding is awful. The overall design is so poor and we’re seeing much of the same of banal shoe box’s popping up all over Manchester.
By Anonymous
To be honest, these sound like glorified hotel rooms…..I suppose they are aimed at a particular demographic. It would be nice to have some good quality reasonable priced, properties in and around the city center. These are a step backwards in my opinion.
By Manc Man
Shared kitchens. That will end well…
By LordLiverpool
If those balconies on the left are only for the hallways then that is very disappointing
By Balcony Warrior
Oppressive and basic. This sort of cheap architecture will pave Manchester’s doom.
By Heritage Action
Not wanting to be negative but….As noted by ‘By Not Impressed’ it’s just a not very impressive purpose built student accommodation dressed up as Co-Living. Which for some operators is basically the same. Just a bit lazy with the same cheap student desk/chair/shelf/wardrobe FFE combo. No evolution from student bedroom a dated and cheap fit out, despite what the rents may be. The colour scheme could be brighter too. Should be better.
By PBSA