Articles From the Team
The old with the new – the ever changing skyline of Manchester
I’m biased having always lived in Manchester but in recent years the city has continued to reinvent itself and is a serious contender for any city relocator!
20 years on from the IRA bomb in Manchester the city is unrecognisable (in a very good way) and it seems there are more exciting times to come!
Now just to be clear, I love old architecture and have always had a preference for period property and have spent endless hours, days (probably years) searching for and then renovating houses with the ever sought after ‘original features’ you hope will have been left behind. There is nothing like uncovering an original fireplace or beautiful wooden floors – or maybe it’s just me! We have some beautiful examples of grand architecture in the city to include the Town Hall, Victoria Station and Manchester Cathedral to name a few.
However! Having also spent time working with a global real estate company in the residential development team, I think it’s great to see the skyline changing. In my previous life I worked on the Leftbank Apartments development in Spinningfields and watching the transformation of the area, which was pretty much the old Court Buildings and a few tired looking offices to the business, retail and leisure space it is now is amazing from showing potential buyers and investors a model and plans in a marketing suite (which is now Manchester House!)
In the next two to three years there are no less than 32 developments planned. From skyscrapers, sky bars and restaurants, new hotels, arts venues and new parks it’s an exciting time to be in Manchester and the perimeter of the city centre continues to creep outwards.
There is a place for everything and whilst I wouldn’t necessarily want a skyscraper at the end of my street in suburbia I think the city centre is absolutely the better for them. How can creating more (affordable) homes, entertainment space, jobs and raising the profile of Manchester be a bad thing? I specialise in recruiting within residential property and the demand for conveyancers outstrips supply.
After the IRA bomb there were 400 people living in the city centre, now there are 20,000. Manchester is a buzzing, thriving economy and the creation of more of all of the above will continue to strengthen this. The fear is that Manchester will lose its personality but as long as we continue to restore the old and breathe new life in to the spaces in between I think we should be able to keep everyone happy!