Manchester’s Changing Skyline

[Grassland Blue]

Heard from a good source that the land on which sits The Angel pub is being purchased for development. I can't say it comes as a suprise as it's surrounded by new builds, and the owners appear to have been holding out for the best bid. With it's car park/yard/beer 'garden' it's a fair sized footprint.

They have certainly let the place rundown and not spent a penny on it's upkeep for a long time. (Ceiling plaster flaking off? Staple a big black sheet over it ... sorted) :-) Despite that, it's still a good pint and will be missed.

A few years ago I was in that pub on a stag do.
In the corner of my eye I noticed a gabble of women walk in.
A mate I was talking to said, "Turn around slowly and look at those women"
I complied and noticed, being polite, that they were rather 'plain'.
My mate said, "Do you think they are lesbians"?
"I bloody hope so", I replied.
He spluttered his beer back into his glass.
Much mirth ensued....

 

[jrb]

Another CGI of the Premier Inn site proposal.

Street level.

I’ve not keen on blank walls, even if they’re coloured or have a pattern on them. If that’s going to be part of the proposal make it a living wall with plants and foliage. It’s more expensive to do, and the plants and foliage need to be maintained, but it looks muck better.

 

[jrb]

Clarepepper1234 - Instagrm





kate_v_mcr





mcr_skyline - Instagram

 

[jrb]

andymallinsphotography - Instagram

 

[Keeper!]

Some modern towers can look stunning but a lot of these going up in Manchester leave a lot to be desired.

Same goes with the coop arena, such a disappointing exterior for what will be a very busy building bringing in many tourist /visitors into Manchester, to be it could and should be a far more iconic design.

 

[Cricket Blue]

Some of it looks fantastic it really does but there is a human cost here to be honest aside from the obvious benefits of the nice buildings and places to live.
A lot of Mancuians have been priced out of the area completely to allow people from other parts of the country to move up north and reside in the City Centre, so it's now in reality a place where mainly rich people live.
The traffic infrastructure is an absolute joke too.
I'd rather live in a tent in the lakes than spend a night in the city centre of Manchester however.

 

[jrb]

Some modern towers can look stunning but a lot of these going up in Manchester leave a lot to be desired.

Same goes with the coop arena, such a disappointing exterior for what will be a very busy building bringing in many tourist /visitors into Manchester, to be it could and should be a far more iconic design.

I don’t think it’s lack of ambition from property developers. It’s cost v return.(especially in a regional city like Manchester) Towers are very expensive to build. More so now due to the rising costs of land, maeterials and Labour. In a nutshell, boxed towers are cheaper to build.

I’ve always said I’d rather Manchester have a (North American looking) boxed skyline instead of a mish-mash shaped skyline like Dubai.(a bad example)

I much prefer the Canary Wharf skyline to the City of London Skyline.

 

[jrb]

Credit VDB. (SSC-MCR)

Everything shown here is either under construction or confirmed to be starting soon.

 

[Keeper!]

Credit VDB. (SSC-MCR)

Everything shown here is either under construction or confirmed to be starting soon.

View attachment 63332

Manhattan Jnr

 

[tony coleman]

Credit VDB. (SSC-MCR)

Everything shown here is either under construction or confirmed to be starting soon.

View attachment 63332Needs something like the CN Tower in Toronto.

 

[somapop]

Credit VDB. (SSC-MCR)

Everything shown here is either under construction or confirmed to be starting soon.

View attachment 63332

What's the tallest tower (on the left grouping) JRB?
Not part of Trinity or is it (and it's just closer than DGS)?

 

[jrb]

What's the tallest tower (on the left grouping) JRB?
Not part of Trinity or is it (and it's just closer than DGS)?

VDB is pretty spot on with his work.

Yes, it‘s Renaker‘s, Trinity Islands, 60 storey tower. The other tower next to it is 55 stories.

Renaker have been onsite prepping it for a while.





I’m off for a week after Christmas, so I’ll take some up to date pictures of the site.

 

[somapop]

^^ Ah, thanks @jrb
Didn't think there was a taller tower planned (taller than the tallest DGS) so it's just the perspective.

 

[jrb]

^^ Ah, thanks @jrb
Didn't think there was a taller tower planned (taller than the tallest DGS) so it's just the perspective.

It’s only a rumour, but there’s a possible new tallest tower planned for the ex-Transition site, Great Jackson Street. Renaker bought the site from De Trafford.

Renaker completes Transition acquisition - Place North West

The developer has added to its holdings at Great Jackson Street in Manchester, agreeing a deal with DeTrafford to take control of a site with consent for almost 400 apartments.

www.placenorthwest.co.uk

The now dead De Trafford, Transition proposal.

The massing model is old. Brown blocks.

 

[somapop]

^^ Is this 'Plot F'? @jrb

Shout if you hear anything.
Shame about that De Trafford element - thought they looked great in contrast to the larger glass towers.

Any reason why they got ditched?

EDIT:
Also, what are these that are mentioned in the article btw?

"At present, Renaker is on site delivering Three60 and Blade – which provide another 855 homes – and is preparing to start work on a pair of 51-storey skyscrapers nearby, for which planning approval was granted in March."

 

[jrb]

^^ Is this 'Plot F'? @jrb

Shout if you hear anything.
Shame about that De Trafford element - thought they looked great in contrast to the larger glass towers.

Any reason why they got ditched?

EDIT:
Also, what are these that are mentioned in the article btw?

"At present, Renaker is on site delivering Three60 and Blade – which provide another 855 homes – and is preparing to start work on a pair of 51-storey skyscrapers nearby, for which planning approval was granted in March."

Skyscrapercity - Manchester is a good source of up to date information and gossip. Keep an eye on it.

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/forums/manchester-metro-area.335/

More on De Trafford and their financial problems. A shame really as they’ve got some really good looking residential proposals in the pipeline, which probably won’t happen now.

Collapsed DeTrafford vehicles owe £26m to creditors - Place North West

BDO, the administrator for the SPVs behind two Manchester city centre apartment schemes, estimates that one lender will get the majority of its loan back, while another could miss out completely.

www.placenorthwest.co.uk

Victoria House - 25 stories - East Village

Salboy - Twitter.

Construction update pictures.












Last picture on the next post. 5 pictures max! Arrrgh! :-(

 

[jrb]

What a great picture that is.
Below is the emerging East Village district.
In the near distance is the Oxford Road and First Street cluster of towers.
Behind them in the far distance is the Great Jackson Street cluster of towers.
Far right in the corner is the Greengate cluster of towers.
HS2 will arrive to the right of Piccadilly Train Station.

 

[jrb]

Said I’d throw in a few other non tower developments.

Factory International Arts Centre - St John’s/Enterprise City.

A real marmite building. Love it or hate it. It has definitely split public opinion. People have constantly criticised it appearance externally, liking it to a concrete car park with a pissed up Space Invader/blob attached to it. Internally it looks very interesting. It’s way over budget and behind schedule. (like most large art centres tend to be)

Laura Dyson - Linkedin

Lucky to have a hardhat tour of Factory International this evening: big thanks Marla Cunningham Andrea Lowe.

The scale, wow. Inspiring and exciting to see the new arts centre and neighbourhood taking shape (Enterprise City/StJohns).

The venue is going to be super flexible (check out the tallest moving doors/dividers I’ve ever seen), and the site includes landscaped public realm onto the Irwell. Another new public space for the city centre.

 

[jrb]

 

[jrb]

NOMA district model. :-)

Martin Markland - Linkedin

A really interesting and extremely well organised site inspection this morning. I was visiting a rapidly developing area of Manchester City Centre called 'NOMA'. No, I am not talking about a local version of the three-Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. Instead, I am referring to a 20 acre masterplanned mixed use development which sits approx. 300 metres to the north of the Arndale Shopping Centre.

A group of us arrived here early this morning for a walk around the latest 190,000 sq.ft. 11-storey office building known as 4 Angel Square. It completes in April 2023 and will tick pretty much every ESG tick box imaginable. Thank you to our hosts MEPC/Federated Hermes, their letting agents colliers international , jll and the main contractor, Bowmer & Kirkland. I do like that pavillion by the way!