First glimpse of Union, city’s first co-living development

Union, Manchester’s first co-living development to be granted planning permission, has revealed a first glimpse of its interior ahead of its imminent completion.

The new buildings, situated at St John’s, have been designed to provide a more accessible gateway into city living.

Union will offer a resident’s gym, lounge, co-working space, and private dining rooms, which developer Vita Group says follows much of its track record for developing beautiful future-proof places for people to thrive.

Bedroom space

Vita says Union is a purpose-built brand born out of thousands of hours of research and development, time spent interviewing the city’s young professionals working in retail and hospitality, nursing, tech, and other industries to find out exactly what they need from their accommodation.

It adds the twist with Union is it’s specifically designed for sharing, taking some of the elements which make professional house shares popular – houses of multiple occupancy – such as affordable tenancies which include bills.

Vita says Union also comes with added flexibility thanks to individual tenancies, which means a group of graduates who have, perhaps, been living in suburbs together, can take a co-live four in Union, bringing them closer to their new roles in the city, but should one need to move out because they get offered a job in a different location, or they want to move in with a partner, they can, without affecting the wider group.

It also provides great opportunities for people who are moving to a city and want to establish new friendship groups, giving them the opportunity to move into shared apartments to make friends as well as connect through events and communal spaces.

Union will offer everything from studios to co-live fours with 1,552 bedrooms across two buildings. In total there will be 151 co-live fours, 214 co-live threes, 30 twos, and 242 studio apartments with a mixture of sizes available.

Each room in the shared apartments (co-lives) come complete with an ensuite bathroom, double bed, and desk space making it functional for work from home days, and an LED Smart TV. The rooms are complemented by a large social kitchen-diner which has been designed to bring the residents together.

The ground floor of the two buildings will become a vibrant community hub, welcoming in the city thanks to more than 4,000 sq ft of leisure and hospitality space. Vita Group said it is currently in talks with a number of the North West’s best operators with some extremely exciting new food concepts in the pipeline.

The first Union building is expected to open in spring 2024, joining the wider St John’s community and with good neighbours Factory International and Soho House preparing to open later in the year.

Kitchen space

Vita Group chief brand officer, David Ancell, said: “Union has been specifically designed around the needs of Manchester’s workforce, the lifeblood of the city, the graduates powering our tech and creative industries, the retail and hospitality superstars and those working in public services such as nursing.

“First and foremost, it’s been designed to be accessible, priced in-line with graduate salaries, it’s also been designed to solve problems these audiences face when renting.”

He added: “We understand these young people are somewhat transient when they’re starting out in their careers and making friends, so they need social living with flexible tenancies which don’t leave others on the hook. We know they don’t want to settle for drab interiors, they don’t want to be in places which are plagued with home hazards which lack soul.

“They want a place which they can be proud of, close to their work and close to the things they love about the city, at a price which represents great value and in a location which brings them closer to their friends and opportunities. We can’t wait to showcase more of Union as we edge closer to opening next year.”