Consultation starts on latest phase of Bruntwood SciTech’s Sister development 

Allies & Morrison’s plans for the first newbuild schemes on a £1.7bn commercial district in Manchester have gone out to consultation.

Designs for two blocks of 12 and 20 storeys have been unveiled as part of the latest phase of Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Manchester’s Sister development, which was rebranded from its original name ID Manchester last year.

Located on the edge of Manchester city centre, the buildings form part of Zone C of the wider four million sq ft development and together contain over 500,000sq ft of commercial space.

Designs outlined in consultation documents show they would be linked by a shared atrium in front of a new public square designed by landscape architect SLA.

The phase also includes the restoration of the grade II-listed Holloway Wall and viaduct arches running through the site, which will become retail, leisure and community spaces.

The consultation follows the completion of the first scheme on the development, the renovation of the 1960s Renold Building as the Renold Innovation Hub, which opened in autumn last year.

Over the next 15 years, Sister is set to see the construction of two million sq ft of workspace, innovation, retail and leisure spaces along with 1,500 homes and nine acres of public space.

Bruntwood SciTech is a joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and currently has a portfolio of 5.2m sq ft across sites in Manchester, Cheshire, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Cambridge and London.

It has plans to create a £5bn portfolio by 2033 and says it has a 2.3m sq ft secured development pipeline.