Member Article

Prime space in centre of Manchester sold to Urban&Civic for £22.45 million

Urban&Civic, the real estate business, with offices in Manchester aims to improve residential, hotel and student accommodation in the centre of Manchester.

Urban&Civic yesterday exchanged contracts with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds for the purchase of two prime sites totalling almost 3 acres in the centre of Manchester, for a total of £22.45 million.

The Deansgate site is 1.9 acres bounded by Deansgate, the River Irwell and Harvey Nichols department store.

It is currently occupied by a 203 bed Marriott Renaissance hotel subject to a management contract expiring November 2017 with current net operating income estimated at approximately £1 million per year, vacant offices and a 399 space car park sublet to Manchester City Council at nil rent.

Preliminary designs provide for up to 600 new apartments in 4 separate blocks, a new 200 bedroom hotel, 300 basement car parking with associated retail and food offers to provide animated street level frontages.

The estimated total development value at current prices is of the order of £225 million.

Construction is likely to take place over a 3 year period to start in 2018.

The Princess Street site comprises 1 acre on the corner of Princess Street and Whitworth Street, equidistant between Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road railway stations in a predominantly residential environment and close to the principal university facilities.

The site is vacant with a previously constructed but unused 300 space basement car park.

Preliminary designs provide for retention of the existing car park and the construction of some combination of 240 new apartments or 270 student units and a 165 bedroom hotel in 3 separate blocks.

Total development value is estimated in the order of £75 million.

Development will be phased, most likely over a 3 year period commencing 2016/17.

The executive chairman of Urban&Civic, Nigel Hugill, said: “Cambridge and Manchester are on the wish lists of most fund managers at the moment and our judgement is that there is still some way to go in both local economies.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .