Plans have been submitted for a major new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) development in Manchester that would deliver more than 1,000 student beds and create a striking new gateway to one of the UK’s most ambitious innovation districts.
RG Real Estate has lodged proposals to redevelop the existing Charles Street Car Park site with a large-scale student living scheme featuring a landmark 38-storey tower. The project forms part of the wider regeneration of the former UMIST campus, which is being transformed into the £1.7bn Sister innovation district by Bruntwood SciTech and The University of Manchester.
The proposed development would provide 1,041 student bedrooms across a combination of studios and cluster apartments, helping to meet growing demand for high-quality student accommodation in the city.
Designed by Hodder + Partners, the scheme would comprise buildings of eight, 10 and 38 storeys located on the corner of Charles Street and Sackville Street, adjacent to the railway viaduct within what is known as Plot H of the Sister masterplan.
The plans follow an extensive public consultation process undertaken last year and have been shaped by a multidisciplinary project team that includes Buro Happold, Deloitte, Layer Studio, Roscoe, Tyler Grange and Civic Heritage, among others.
In addition to delivering modern student accommodation, the proposals include more than an acre of new public realm, improved pedestrian connections and active ground-floor uses designed to enhance the surrounding neighbourhood and support the wider regeneration vision.
RG Real Estate Development Director Darren Simmons said the scheme would transform an underutilised site into a vibrant new destination, while helping to reactivate Altrincham Street and strengthen connections across the evolving innovation district.
The development is strategically positioned close to major transport links and within easy reach of Manchester’s universities, making it well suited to support the city’s growing student population.
The proposals also sit alongside a number of other significant residential developments planned for the area, underlining Manchester’s continued emergence as one of the UK’s most active student accommodation and urban regeneration markets.
If approved, the scheme will become another major addition to the city’s expanding skyline and a key component of the wider transformation of the former UMIST campus into a world-class hub for science, technology and innovation.
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