Plans in for £213m Great Northern Warehouse revamp

The historic Manchester building will be converted into offices with 746 homes built nearby, under proposals by Trilogy Real Estate and Hong Kong-based Peterson Group.

Great Northern Warehouse is a grade two star-listed structure off Deansgate in Manchester city centre and is part of a larger six-acre site that also includes Deansgate Terrace.

Designs by architect SimpsonHaugh call for the upper floors of the warehouse to become 120,000 sq ft of offices. Deansgate Terrace would also be refurbished to provide 30,000 sq ft of offices on its upper floors, with the ground floor continuing to hold retail and leisure space.

The leisure box, a 1990s extension to Great Northern would be partially demolished under the plans. The leisure box is currently home to the Odeon cinema, an NCP carpark, and a gym.

While much of the leisure box will be gone, part of the multistorey car park will be retained. However, this would still result in the loss of 311 parking spaces as the amount of spaces reduces from 1,240 to 929.

View showing two of the residential buildings at Great Northern. Credit: SimpsonHaugh

The 746 homes would be spread out across three buildings, including a 27-storey tower and a 34-storey one. The shortest of the buildings would be 16 storeys. The homes would have between one and three bedrooms, with 430 being two-bedroom units.

The residential buildings would have 753 spaces for cycle storage and 22,100 sq ft of private external amenity space between them. There would also be more than 50,000 sq ft of shared amenity space.

In addition to the residential and office elements, the planning application includes designs by landscape architect Planit-IE to enhance Great Northern Square.

The plans also see the addition of pedestrian and cycle routes across the site. One of these, a pedestrian route connecting Deansgate and Watson Street, would be named Alport Street to pay homage to the district of the same name that used to be on the site.

The planning application submission follows a public consultation in September.

View looking down from one of the towers. Credit: SimpsonHaugh

If planning permission is secured, Trilogy and Peterson would develop the project in phases. Phase A would be the refurbishment and conversion of Great Northern Warehouse and the northern end of Deansgate Terrace. Phases B and C would include the partial leisure box demolition, the building of the residential towers, and the refurbishment of the southern end of Deansgate Terrace.

The Great Northern project is targeting a sustainability BREEAM rating of Excellent, according to an environmental standards statement from consultant WSP.

Alistair Lambert, MEP and sustainability Lead at WSP, said: “Delivering sustainable, high-quality environments for working and living is paramount and minimising energy consumption and carbon emissions over the lifecycle of the development has been a key driver.

“This commitment to sustainability runs throughout the design and is demonstrated by the accreditations which are being targeted across the scheme to achieve the highest standards of BREEAM and WELL ratings,” Lambert continued.

“This is a testament to the work of our project team that excel in their field to provide best-in-class spaces.”

Robert Wolstenholme, founder and chief executive of Trilogy, echoed Lambert’s remarks.

“Alongside our partners at Peterson, Trilogy put community, sustainability and local business at the heart of our schemes,” Wolstenholme said. “We have already been delivering on this agenda at the Great Northern.”

Wolstenholme continued: “Following positive community feedback, we are excited to have submitted plans that will create a green and flourishing mixed-use neighbourhood that remains authentic to its roots. We believe that this approach will provide a key differentiator as we continue to build a thriving working and residential community.”

Night time view of the Great Northern project. Credit: SimpsonHaugh

Lindsay Humblet, director of landscape architecture at Planit, described how this relates to the public realm strategy.

“Planit is committed to delivering new and improved public and residential green streets and spaces and our plans for Great Northern are a standout example of how landscape architecture will enrich the neighbourhood and its emerging community,” Humblet said.

“Through extensive public consultation, the character of each of the spaces has been developed to reflect its context, function and users, delivering a unique sense of place that will be Mancunian to its core.”

Nick Owen, partner at SimpsonHaugh, said: “Our vision for the Great Northern is to create a thriving and sustainable new mixed-use city neighbourhood. At the heart of the proposals is the sensitive refurbishment and celebration of the site’s unique built heritage, the transformation and enhancement of the public realm, and the careful reconnection of the buildings and spaces to their surroundings. Our aim is to create a place for everyone to enjoy”.

Another view of the enhanced Great Northern Square. Credit: SimpsonHaugh

The Great Northern project would result in 1,605 jobs being created during the construction period, according to Trilogy. A viability statement by CBRE for the scheme puts construction costs at a little under £213m.

Deloitte is the planning consultant for the scheme. The project team also includes Curtins, Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture, Civic Engineers, Salford Archaeology, UrbanBubble, Light Bureau, Forever Consulting, Indigo Surveys, Pager Power, OFR Consultants, Aura, and Quadriga.

The planning application reference numbers for the project are 135565/FO/2022 and 135566/LO/2022 with Manchester City Council.