Deal Confirmed For Construction Of Latest Manchester Skyscraper
A deal has been confirmed between former footballer turned property tycoon Gary Neville’s Relentless Group and fellow developer Salboys over the construction partner for the St Michael’s Tower in central Manchester.
The £250 million tower will be built by Domis, Salboy’s dedicated construction partner, with the 40-storey skyscraper set to be completed in 2026. It marks the second phase of the St Michael’s development, which also includes a nine-storey building. The mixed-use development combines commercial and retail space with luxury flats and a new hotel.
Property development finance has been pouring into central Manchester in recent years, with a plethora of new tall buildings transforming the city’s skyline, but this particular project has attracted more attention than most due to the high profile of Mr Neville, who spent his entire playing career at Manchester United and is now a pundit for Sky Sports.
It has also proved highly controversial, having initially failed to get planning permission before a significantly revised plan got the go-ahead. The original scheme had proposed demolishing adjacent buildings that will now remain, such as the Abercromby Pub and the former Bootle Street Police Station.
Another change was to the location of the tower, which critics argued was too close to the Gothic Manchester Town hall and domed Central Library.
Mr Neville remarked: “The Relentless team have been on this project for 15 years and we’ve never diluted our ambition on what has been an incredibly long journey to build this complex and challenging project.”
The St Michael’s Tower will be 134.5 metres (441 ft) in height, which before 2005 would have made it the tallest building in Manchester.
However, not only did the 554 ft Beetham Tower end the CIS Building’s 43-year reign as Manchester’s loftiest building, but it has now been surpassed in turn by the 659 ft South Tower in the Deansgate Square cluster, which was completed in 2020.
Of the 12 Mancunian buildings over 100 metres in height, all but two have been built this century.
n.b the Beetham Tower exceeded the CIS Building in height in 2005 while still under construction but was completed the following year.