A planning application to regenerate a site on the corner of Princess Street and Whitworth Street in central Manchester has been submitted by Urban&Civic to Manchester City Council.
The projects investment value is approx. €140 mln (£100 mln), the proposed scheme includes two residential buildings comprising 238 apartments, a 148 bedroom 4 star hotel, ground floor commercial units and a new landscaped public square over the existing four-level basement car park.
The scheme was presented at a public exhibition on 11/12 September 2015 and the majority of people that commented on the proposals supported the regeneration of the site and preferred the new scheme to its predecessor.
Urban&Civic purchased the one-acre site with an extant planning consent in December last year. Since the existing planning consent was granted in 2007 a number of factors have changed such as the economy and property market as well as thinking about design and uses, so Urban&Civic has worked on a revised scheme that better reflects the current market and its aspirations for the site.
Andrew Lavin, Development Manager for Urban&Civic said: “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 as we believe in the site’s potential and long-term investment value.”
The revised design, which broadly reflects the height and massing of the consented scheme, creates a contemporary reinterpretation of key architectural characteristics of historic buildings within the Conservation Area and sensitively reconnects the site to its surroundings.
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 approximately 20 months later.
Source: Urban&Civic
