A £1bn regeneration opportunity in Manchester city centre is to be offered to the market after agents were appointed to create a development strategy for the 29-acre site.
Manchester City Council has instructed CBRE to advise on the future of North Campus, a major regeneration opportunity south west of Piccadilly Station.
Owned by the Unversity of Manchester, it is one of the few large, centrally located sites in Manchester city centre which is yet to undergo major regeneration.
The site has been earmarked for a “new hub for technology, learning, research and development” after the university relocates its engineering department to Oxford Road in 2021.
A draft regeneration framework published in December shows the potential for between 1,000 and 2,500 homes, 1.4m sq ft of offices, 130,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant floorspace and up to 500 hotel rooms.
Student accommodation could be included within the site. However, the framework notes that it may not be required as forecast demand to meet anticipated student numbers may already have been met.
CBRE is due to report to the board by the end of the year on how it proposes the council should progress with the redevelopment of the site. It is likely a procurement process will then be launched to find a development partner early next year.
The site is the former home of the renowned University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and currently part of the University of Manchester’s estate.
Identified as a “research intensive knowledge environment”, the area is to be developed as a mixed-use district, with the knowledge industry and academic research identified as key activities. Early regeneration plans have already received local opposition, including from former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, a patron of the Manchester Modernist Society, on the grounds that plans could see the demolition of important post-war architecture in the city.
The site neighbours the £850m Mayfield regeneration quarter. U+I was selected in September to lead the regeneration of Mayfield, which is due to deliver 1,300 homes, 807,293 sq ft of offices, a 350-bedroom hotel, retail, leisure facilities and a new city park.
A spokesperson from The University of Manchester said: “We are currently appointing strategic advisors to advise the University on its development strategy for North Campus. We will be announcing more detail in due course.”
The neighbourhoods and proposed uses
Wood Street development
A new city centre neighbourhood for university students. The new buildings could be university facilities, located next to the University of Manchester’s biochemistry building and close to the new Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre and Oxford Road, which is known as the city’s innovation district.
Renold Court
A new technology and innovation hub aimed at attracting businesses in the knowledge economy/research and development sector. The area could also be suitable for housing. New high quality public realm will be created. The Altrincham railway viaduct arches could be transformed into bars, restaurants, cafes and workshops. Altrincham Street will be a full pedestrianised road connecting people through the site from Oxford Road to London Road.
Jackson Court
A new commercial quarter with predominantly offices with ground floor retail. Many of the district’s tall buildings, with guide height of up to 18 storeys, will be located in this neighbourhood. Access will be via a new road, Renold Street, which will connect east-west from London Road to Sackville Street. People accessing the site from Piccadilly train station and the Mayfield site could pass by the grade II listed Hollaway Wall – an acoustic barrier designed by artist Antony Holloway in 1968 and commissioned by UMIST that could be incorporated into the base of one of the office buildings.
Jackson Street South
Research and development district. The GEIC building is under construction and due for completion in 2017. It is expected the centre will attract global interest for other research companies looking to set up base close by. The new district is expected to offer work opportunities to University of Manchester students who want to stay in the city after graduation.
Charles Street development
A new residential tower is proposed to the east of the neighbourhood along Sackville Street. The rest of the site is earmarked for housing and new car parking facilities. Viaduct arches to the north of the site could turned into housing, allowing the extension of the proposed pedestrianised route along Altrincham Street in the Renold Court neighbourhood.
Sackville Court
The main gateway linking North Campus to the city centre. The masterplan proposes opening up the Sackville Building at ground floor through the centre of the building to allow easier access to Vimto Park.
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