Manchester City Council has today (28th July 2016) approved Generation Ltd’s detailed planning application for the redevelopment of The Toast Rack. The proposals for the former Manchester Metropolitan University Hollings Campus in Fallowfield were submitted in March and promise to be a modern adaptation of a much-loved Manchester icon.
The application is for 210 one, two, three and four bed residential units, 20,000 sq ft of gym and leisure facilities and 7,000 sq ft of retail. Possible uses for the retail space include a coffee shop with associated co-working spaces for use by residents and the public.
The proposed development will be supported by a full, 24 hour concierge service and includes almost two acres of amenity space for residents. The amenity space provides a covered winter garden with play areas for children; a rooftop garden on top of The Toast Rack building boasting uninterrupted views over Manchester; a courtyard garden, a grassed play area and other grassed relaxation areas around the site.
It is envisaged that the scheme will go on site in the last quarter of 2016 and the development will be phased over two years. The gym is scheduled to be the first of the elements to be delivered.
Co-founder of Generation Ltd Shehzad Chaudhri said:
“This scheme was carefully crafted in light of the site’s listed status and we are really looking forward to getting started now it has been given the green light by Manchester City Council. We are confident that the local community will be pleased with the development and its positive impact on the surroundings when this comes to fruition. Further details will be released on Generation’s website in due course.
“We saw a fantastic opportunity with The Toast Rack and this bold scheme is just the statement that south Manchester market needs. We’ve also examined the economic landscape in the light of the recent Brexit vote and the pent up demand for this type of housing product in the suburbs remains strong.”
Generation Ltd acquired The Toast Rack building on behalf of The Home Property Group via its subsidiary company, Estrela Properties Ltd, in October 2014 with the aim of bringing the values and amenities offered by city centre PRS schemes to the suburbs. Generation is The Home Property Group’s representative in the UK and is providing a turn-key solution with this development and will continue to be involved in all aspects from acquisition through to management of the completed project.
Generation consulted with Manchester Modernist Society, 20th Century Society, Places Matter and Historic England on its plans for the Grade II listed site. The existing campus includes 154,000 sq ft of buildings set in four acres. The buildings previously staged undergraduate and postgraduate courses in food, clothing, hospitality, tourism and related fields. The Toast Rack was designed by architect Leonard Cecil Howitt and opened in 1960 and was listed in 1998. Three of the four buildings on Wilmslow Road are linked, while the clothing block, previously used for textile design, is detached.
Paul Butler Associates acted as planning adviser, Ollier Smurthwaite Architects designed the new-build elements within the development – the Stitching block and the Gateway building. SixTwo Architects redesigned the existing listed buildings comprising The Toast Rack, the Horseshoe and the Drum. Joule Consulting Engineers gave structural advice.
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