With emphasis on a delicately curated mix of uses including 1.5 million sq ft of office, leisure, retail and residential areas alongside high-quality green spaces, plans to radically redevelop The Great Northern into a ‘heritage-led, sustainable neighbourhood’ have officially been granted by Manchester City Council, paving the way for the area to become the city’s community-focused centre of business, retail and recreation.
The major regeneration project will establish high quality office space as its centrepiece within the restored the Grade II* listed Great Northern Warehouse, reflecting the unique post-pandemic demands of visitors, workers and business owners alike, with a new glazed atrium, ‘character-rich’ brick walls and carefully landscaped outdoor spaces.
Deansgate Terrace is set to become a fresh hub of commerce within which a range of innovative start-ups will sit alongside established businesses, with 30,000 sq ft of flexible space providing ample room for a new and exciting commercial community.
A new pedestrian street – to be named Dean Street – will be developed between the Warehouse and Deansgate Terrace, while Deansgate Mews will be retained with improved access and fantastically affordable space for local independent businesses.
The Leisure Box site – an extension dating back to the 1990s – will be redeveloped into three residential buildings comprising 746 apartments, with a mix of 1, 2, and 3-bedroom homes. Two taller buildings of 27 and 34
storeys will rise above a 2-storey podium building, while the entire development will retain the foundations and basement structures of the original site, significantly reducing the project’s carbon footprint.
Situated in front of the Warehouse, Great Northern Square will be transformed into an idyllic green oasis, providing an urban yet biodiverse amenity space for residents, workers, visitors and families to meet, relax and play, with new pedestrian routes, events spaces and the sandpit – already a family favourite during the summer.