The new £50m buy-to-rent within Manchester’s Victoria North masterplan is progressing at pace having recently reached its highest point.
The AEW Architects-designed scheme is spread across four separate residential blocks, including a 13-storey tower block and an 11-storey main block with below-ground parking provision, and will comprise 237 new build-to-rent apartments, a gym, a lounge, and a new urban centre, providing a significant addition to public realm space.
Formerly part of the historic Manchester Gas Works, the complex site required a significant enabling phase to identify and clear buried obstructions, including brick arch coke storage vaults. The level difference between the front and back of the site, including those through the brick arch vaults were in the region of six metres, therefore, obtaining a detailed understanding of the existing below ground stability was essential to facilitating the early construction phase. In a UK-first for a building of this size, the team selected a lightweight Metframe structure with a slimline slab over a first-floor transfer deck for the 11-storey block, reducing massing and foundation requirements whilst driving down embodied carbon.
To reinstate the rear boundary, the team designed a six-metre high Tensar reinforced soil retaining structure. This utilises reclaimed 6F2 from the demolition of the buried brick arch vaults which was stored and certified during the demolition phase. Meanwhile, the adjacent building’s substructure has been designed to minimise impact on the new walls which is to be faced with a sprayed concrete finish.
Our team worked closely with McGoff Construction and the wider design team to provide full civil and structural engineering services including geotechnical field work, reporting and remediation strategy, S278 and drainage. We also provided temporary works design across the site throughout the enabling and construction phase to ensure all boundaries were protected.
Practical completion is anticipated in January 2026.
