Renaker unveils second phase of Manchester’s Crown Street Sarah Townsend

Manchester-based developer Renaker Build has unveiled details of the second phase of its Crown Street project, including a distinctive circular tower alongside other elements, and expects to submit a planning application in January 2020.

The scheme comprises two 51-storey skyscrapers, designed by architect SimpsonHaugh and is set to house 865 apartments on the edge of Manchester city centre.

Described by Renaker as the ‘Blade’ and the ‘Circle’, one tower has been designed with cylindrical shape, an unusual proposition for a residential block in Manchester, while the other is a rectangle with curved sides.

Renaker’s Crown Street is also due to include a primary school, a public park and a multi-storey car park with around 380 spaces.

The school is planned to occupy a two-storey building to the north of the residential towers and accommodate around 210 pupils, according to the plans unveiled at a public consultation event on Wednesday. The school will be screened from view from the towers with a line of trees and other greenery.

On the lower floors of the apartment blocks, Renaker plans to build several commercial units, a reception area and a gym on the upper foyer, as well as a private garden.

While the towers occupy the same parcel of land, they will be kept as distinct buildings under the plans, each with separate gardens and access. Under the proposals, 33% of the apartments will be one-beds, 6% three-beds, and the rest will be two-bedroom apartments.

Renaker expects to submit a detailed planning application for the residential towers, together with outline plans for the school, which is still in the early design stages.

The circular tower is one of only a few proposals of its shape which have emerged in Manchester in recent years. There are several non-residential buildings with curved sides in the city, including the Co-operative Group’s headquarters One Angel Square and Hotel Indigo, both near Manchester Victoria railway station.

An historic proposal for a building at Piccadilly Village, known as Gravity Tower, was a similar circular residential tower but was never built.

Renaker is already on site with the first phase of Crown Street, which comprises two residential blocks totalling 664 apartments. The 21-storey Victoria Tower has topped out, according to Renaker, and the connected 52-storey Elizabeth Tower is set to be constructed within the next 12 months. Both are designed by SimpsonHaugh.

Last month, it was revealed that London-based Maslow Capital had backed Crown Street with a £123m development loan.

The scheme is part of Renaker’s wider redevelopment of the Great Jackson Street area on the edge of Manchester City Centre. That includes the four-tower cluster Deansgate Square, which is nearing completion, and sites owned by DeTrafford, which have planning consent for towers of 32, 26 and 18 storeys on Olympia Trading Estate, also designed by SimpsonHaugh.

Overall, Great Jackson Street is earmarked for more than 6,500 apartments across 23 towers, as well as lower-rise blocks and townhouses.

Click any image below to launch gallery