Manchester council gives green light to 27-storey mixed-use tower

Manchester City Council has approved plans for a 27-storey residential tower in the city centre.

The One Cathedral Square development, which will contain 300 apartments, makes up the third and final part of a £210m scheme that includes a hotel and 4,600 square metres of office space.

The 26,000-square-metre tower will be built on the site of the former Renaissance Hotel in Deansgate.

Consent for the scheme was secured by local developer Property Alliance Group, working in a joint venture with Starwood Capital. Work is expected to start later this year.

Designed by Jon Matthews Architects, the building will offer a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments as well as ground-floor retail units, a cinema room, gym and lounge.

In a nod to the nearby Manchester Cathedral, the scheme will feature sandstone precast panels textured and patterned to reflect the church’s stonework.

The wider masterplan put forward by the joint venture will complete the redevelopment of the city district ruined by the 1996 IRA bomb attack, linking the cathedral with the AO Arena and Manchester’s main shopping area.

The office scheme, which was granted planning permission earlier this year, is already underway.

Property Alliance Group chief executive Alex Russell welcomed the decision to approve the residential part of the development, saying the company had a “strong and dedicated team” behind the delivery of One Cathedral Square.

“Following the completion and success of our best-in-class city centre apartment schemes, Oxygen and Axis, we anticipate high demand for these exclusive homes in a key district in Manchester that is set for an exciting revival,” he said.

Permission was granted at the end of last year for a 37-storey student accommodation block and office space on the site of the Premier Inn at Deansgate.