Thumbs up for apartments and offices at former rail station site

Planning permission has been granted for three residential properties at Embankment West, the site of the former Manchester Exchange Railway Station at the end of Deansgate.

Select Property Group has been given the go-ahead to build two 18 storey and one 16 storey building on the site which is currently a car park behind the company’s CitySuites building on Chapel Street which opened in February.

In addition to the new development, Select will open up the area next to Embankment 101 with more green spaces and public walkways from Exchange Square and Chapel Street through to the historic Salford approach.

Labelled Manchester’s next new village and likened to the new Northern Quarter or Chorlton, the Chapel Street area is seeing continued growth by both residential and commercial developers, as well as existing independents looking to expand, such as Manchester favourite Umezushi.

And with the opening of The Ordsall Chord linking Piccadilly Station to Victoria next month, it will become even more of a destination, says Select.

Two of Select’s buildings will be a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom residential apartments, and the third will be a second CitySuites. Select’s popular Chapel Street serviced apartments are home to business and leisure travellers, as well as a selection of Manchester VIPs.

This second site allows for 147 spacious serviced apartments, as well as a swimming pool, gym and business lounge.

The decision represents an amendment to a previous permission to allow for a second CitySuites building by reducing the number of residential apartments. The architects working on the scheme are CallisonRTKL.

Michele Steel, strategic planning director of Select Property Group, said: “With Embankment 101 and CitySuites now open, the whole Embankment area is really starting to take shape so we’re delighted with the decision to enhance the area further and we’re looking forward to starting on site.”

John Badman, director of CallisonRTKL, said: “We are pleased to have worked collaboratively with Select to design a scheme that has been given the seal of approval.

“This development will be the final piece in the jigsaw of the comprehensive regeneration of the southern part of the Greengate Regeneration Area, and is set to become the ‘front door’ of the district.

“Set in three blocks, the scheme will overlook a curated public realm with active ground floors designed to enhance residents’ experience as well as that of the wider public. Its placemaking qualities will be reinforced with a robust architectural strategy that will ensure that the buildings will be both distinctive and distinguished and make a memorable and positive contribution to the image of wider regeneration area.”

Following the granting of planning permission, work is scheduled to start in summer 2018 after demolition of the existing viaduct structure which will start imminently.

Headquartered in Alderley Edge, Select has built and now manages 980 properties across its Vita Student and CitySuites portfolio in Manchester alone and is in development with a further 1975 properties across the city. Following the planning decision, there will be more than 3,000 people living across Select’s Manchester schemes by 2021.

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