Manchester’s Northern Quarter will see work begin on new commercial office space of around 6,000 sq ft as part of the wider £30m Port Street mixed-use development. Work will begin next month on the commercial office space with developer Mulbury and architect Tim Groom getting the green light in November last year. High-quality apartments will form the cornerstone of the development, and will see Mulbury enter the private rented sector for the first time. 134 new homes will be built ranging in size from 400 sq ft studio apartments to 900 sq ft multi-bedroom apartments.

Mulbury’s work begins as it reveals plans to build a further 1,200 private rented sector properties in Manchester, tapping into a blossoming market that is currently worth around £250m in value with £150m worth of construction contracts. Significantly, the new scheme will emerge close to completed redevelopment in the New Islington area, further highlighting the ambitions of Manchester City Council’s proactive investment.

The development marks a “significant contribution” to the area’s regeneration says Mulbury director Martin Bury. He called the project a “flagship scheme” for the private rented sector in the city and noted his excitement about getting involved.

Architect Tim Groom was also thrilled about working on the project. He said the design of the scheme was very much about bringing together what had become a disjointed place that was rundown in places.

Both Mulbury and architect Tim Groom entered into extensive consultation with the council, Heritage England, and other bodies while holding a public consultation on the plans for the Northern Quarter. The development gets underway next month with an expected completion date of summer 2017.