Urban & Civic submits plans for former Origin site

A reworked planning application for a one-acre site on the corner of Princess Street and Whitworth Street has been submitted to Manchester City Council.

The scheme includes two residential buildings totalling 238 apartments, a 148-bedroom hotel, ground floor commercial units and a landscaped public square over the existing four-level basement car park.

The one-acre parcel of land was acquired by Urban & Civic last year along with the Renaissance Hotel in Blackfriars Street and Deansgate.

Both plots were part of a portfolio previously owned by developer Donal Mulryan’s company West Properties, which were bought by Morgan Stanley in 2011 as part of the disposal of £216m of Mulryan’s assets by the Irish Government’s National Asset Management Agency.

The site, which was the former location of the Palazzo Warehouse buildings, was given planning permission for a development designed by Ian Simpson Architects, now SimpsonHaugh & Partners, in 2007.

The scheme was to include a seven-storey 62,000 sq ft office, 180 apartments, a boutique hotel, and a range of shops and cafes.

The revised design, also be SimpsonHaugh, broadly reflects the height and massing of the previously consented scheme.

Subject to planning permission being granted, work would start on the initial phase of residential buildings in summer 2016, with the first new residents moving in 20 months later.

Andrew Lavin, development manager for Urban & Civic, said: “This is an exciting new mixed-used development that will transform a key city centre site that has stood derelict for over a decade.

“Our vision is to create a vibrant development that sensitively reconnects the site to the surrounding area. We believe the introduction of local independent traders in the ground floor units will help integrate the scheme into the neighbourhood. We plan to retain ownership and long-term stewardship to help ensure the development fulfils its potential.”