PATRIZIA UK has announced that it has secured planning permission from Manchester City Council for the development of 624 Build to Rent (“BTR)” units at First Street. The new development will be a key element of the 20-acre mixed-use scheme and forms part of the Company’s wider strategy to acquire, develop and manage BTR in the UK, building on its broad residential expertise across 15 European countries.
Following acquisition of the site in May 2015, PATRIZIA developed plans for a BTR-specific scheme in the centre of Manchester in response to the increasing demand for high quality rented living space from professionals based in the city. Manchester City Council has now granted PATRIZIA consent for the development of 624 apartments comprising a mix of studio, one-bed, two-bed and three-beds aimed specifically at private renters. The completed scheme will comprise four towers of up to 23 storeys in height and will also offer 2,300m² of raised garden space that will constitute one of the largest green spaces in central Manchester, 350m² of private amenity space, car parking, tenants storage areas and 1,250m² of mixed commercial use at street level. Construction is expected to commence in Q4 2016 with a view to delivering the completed development by mid 2019.
Manchester has experienced a surge in demand for BTR in recent years, with private rental now accounting for 16% of all households in Greater Manchester, reflecting an increase of 62% between 2001 and 2011, as the number of new dwellings completed during 2013-14 has fallen by 22.2% on the previous year. However, it is the centre of Manchester where the appetite for private renting has developed more keenly with an increase in 85% to account for 28% of all households, and it is this area that PATRIZIA is targeting with its tailored development plans providing high quality purpose built accommodation to working professionals in a desirable and accessible location.
First Street has already become an attractive destination for residents of Manchester through its extensive retail and leisure offer, with tenants including leading Manchester-born operators The Liquor Store and The Dockyard, as well as the Indian Tiffin Room, Sainsbury’s, Q-Park, Starbucks, INNSIDE Hotel and the cultural arts venue HOME. In addition to this leisure offer, First Street is also home to a number of office tenants including Auto Trader, Ford Credit Europe, Jacobs and Amaze. PATRIZIA are also developing, with GMPVF, a new Grade A, BREEAM excellent, 175,000ft2 office building, which is part prelet to Gazprom.
James Muir, Managing Director at PATRIZIA UK, said: “First Street represents our first investment in the UK BTR market. It is an exciting scheme providing a substantial number of high quality apartments specifically aimed at the private rental sector. Manchester is absolutely thriving and we are excited to have such a substantial footprint in the city and look forward to delivering the scheme as we build on our UK BTR strategy.”
Source: PATRIZIA
