Salboy opens public consultation over refreshed plans for flagship Viadux scheme

Salboy invites response to new plans for next of phase of development of flagship city centre scheme
Revised plans to include two new towers to serve increasing demand for high quality living space in central Manchester at a range of price points and tenure types
New planning application expected to be made in early 2024

Salboy Group, the nationwide property development and funding company, has started a public consultation process, in conjunction with DOMIS, its dedicated construction partner, for revised plans for the next phase of its Viadux scheme in central Manchester.

Refreshed designs for Phase Two – images of which are available to download below – would see the construction of two new towers:

As part of the second phase of development, there will be around 780 apartments in a 76-storey building, delivering exclusive city-centre living space for domestic and international buyers. The architecturally ambitious building will be elevated above ground with its foundations built under a retained Victorian archway.

A second building will stand at 23-storeys tall creating around 130 brand new affordable homes in a hugely well-connected and desirable part of Manchester. The properties are likely to be available to occupants on a range of tenure types that could include shared ownership and affordable rental.

At the base of the towers, commercial and public realm space will be created to compliment a world-class, mixed-use neighbourhood that will help to meet growing demand for city centre living while bringing economic and environmental benefits to the area.

In plans first drawn up in 2017, Phase Two of the Viadux scheme had been expected to comprise 240,000 sq ft of Grade A office space. The new plans, designed by the same architects, SimpsonHaugh, respond to updated market dynamics, including exceptionally strong demand for high quality living space to continue to support the growth of Manchester city centre’s residential population.

If approved, these plans will see the final Viadux scheme create over 900 new homes across a very wide range of price points and tenure types in a development that will shape the Manchester skyline for years to come.

Simon Ismail, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Salboy, comments: “City centres throughout the UK are facing the same falling demand for office space, but in Manchester that decline is being hugely outweighed by the ever-growing demand for high quality homes. When you are developing schemes like Viadux that will take years to come to fruition, being tenacious and adaptable is critical for success.

“We are excited to reveal new plans that will complete the Viadux masterplan and deliver a neighbourhood of high quality, design-led homes that meet Manchester’s substantial need for accommodation at a range of price points and tenure types. Viadux Phase Two will deliver on that demand, while at the same time bringing to the Manchester cityscape a crowning feature that offers panoramic views of a city rich in heritage and sympathetic regeneration.”

Construction of Phase One, which comprises a 40-storey tower of 364 apartments, began in 2020 and is well underway with practical completion on course for Q2 2024. By November 2023, more than 95% of Phase One properties had been sold or reserved.

Proposals for the enlarged residential scheme are now out for consultation until Friday 22 December 2023. A public consultation event will be held at 53two on Watson Street M3 4LP on Monday 4 December 2023 between 4pm and 7pm. Further to feedback, submission of a planning application is expected to follow in early 2024.