Property group Urban & Civic has this week confirmed its purchase of two key sites in Manchester from investment bank Morgan Stanley, upon which it intends to construct hundreds of apartments and hotel rooms.
The deal, worth £22.45 million, has seen Urban & Civic take ownership of both the Origin site near Manchester’s gay village and also the Renaissance hotel on Blackfriars Street. Each of the sites are primed for development, with the group expected to submit planning applications for both in the New Year.
In total, the developer expects to spend £300 million on the construction of eight separate buildings across the two sites. Construction work on each site is expected to begin in 2017, with all eight buildings due to open by 2021.
News of the deal broke soon after Urban & Civic confirmed the acquisition of an additional site, this time in Cambridge.
Nigel Hugill, group chairman, says; “Cambridge and Manchester are on the wish lists of most fund managers at the moment and our judgement is that there is still some way to go in both local economies.”
Both sites have already been considered for significant development in the past, with previous owner West Properties having submitted plans for 61,700 sq ft of retail space, a 250 bedroom luxury hotel and 248 apartments on the Renaissance site in 2007.
Origin’s plans for a boutique hotel, 60,000 sq ft of office space, 180 apartments and numerous retail units actually got off the ground at a similar time, but development was halted after the foundations for construction work had been put in.
Under Urban & Civic’s plans, however, each development will benefit from an increase in residential units, with Renaissance to gain 600 apartments across four separate tower blocks and 240 apartments or 270 student flats to be built on the Origin site. Furthermore, each will provide ample parking for residents and visitors, with Origin’s existing underground car park to be retained and Renaissance to gain a basement car park with 300 spaces.
In terms of commercial space, Urban & Civic intends to create a 200 bedroom hotel on the Renaissance site, with retail and food units on the ground floor as a means of generating further profit. Meanwhile, Origin will gain a 165 bedroom hotel, although as yet no plans for retail or leisure space have been released.
Although all plans are as yet in the early stages of design, there is no doubt that, should these developments go ahead, their central locations and plentiful supply of hotel rooms will make them key destinations for Manchester residents and visitors.
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