Welcome Introduction Vita Group Welcome to our consultation on the proposals for Union, an Vita Group is a best-in-class residential developer and exciting new co-living development that Vita Group is seeking operator who has pioneered a range of award-winning living to bring to the St John’s Regeneration Area. products in Manchester and across the UK. The ethos of the Vita Group is formed around a customer-focused approach Union will apply the customer-focused and community-led whose central aim is forming sustainable, diverse and vibrant approach that underpins the success of Vita’s other residential communities in and around its properties. brands to bring new high-quality, innovative, sustainable and accessible accommodation to St John’s in Manchester City Centre. The Site Union’s offer is perfectly matched to Manchester City Council’s The site is located on Water Street, within the heart of the St objectives for St John’s and Enterprise City and can make a John’s masterplan between the The Factory development, to significant contribution to the success of this key regeneration the south, and the Victoria and Albert Hotel to the north. To the project, supporting and accelerating its next phases of east is the forthcoming Manchester Goods Yard and the Union regeneration. Tower 1 proposals. Planning Permission exists on the site for a 36-storey residential tower, approved by Manchester City Council in 2017 (Planning Permission is 114723/FO/2016). New Q ua y S tr eet Quay Street ell w r er I iv R T1 T2 eet r t Public consultation was held on S eet tr Vita’s first Union proposal at plot T1 om r y er S t B a in October 2019, which has since er W w o been submitted to Manchester City L Council for approval. Liverpool Road eet tr er S t a W St John’s & Enterprise City The St John’s Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) was Enterprise City will comprise a unique offering of multi-studios originally endorsed by Manchester City Council in 2015 and for TV, film and music recording/production, entertainment, was updated in November 2016 to incorporate the emerging places to start a retail brand, a restaurant or a café, all anchored Factory proposals. on 21st Century workspace infrastructure. The SRF vision for St John’s is to deliver a ‘best-in-class’ city The neighbourhood will revolve around three core thematic centre neighbourhood; a place to live, work and play; a place pillars; ‘living’, ‘culture’ and ‘enterprise’. The intention is to for enterprise and innovation; for culture, entertainment and create a ‘sustainable ecosystem’, comprising a vibrant mix of leisure; a unique proposition for Manchester that will raise digital, technology and creative industries, rather than just a its international profile and set it apart from its peer cities. ‘place of work’. The Enterprise City concept has been developed as a long- This vision is now being realised, with a string of exciting term partnership between Aviva and Allied London to establish developments and occupiers announced, together with The a media and tech creative hub within St John’s. Factory, which will open next year. THE FACTORY OLD GRANADA STUDIOS BONDED WHAREHOUSE MANCHESTER GOODS YARD Union Concept A sustainable mix of residential accommodation is required to support the range of key skilled workers, graduates, apprentices and those on temporary or fixed contracts in the city, together with the broader range of workers that contribute to the ecosystem and wider Manchester economy. Union will deliver accommodation for a living and working community that has been specifically curated for this demographic and Enterprise City. The standard of accommodation, its operational platform, and its facilities will set a new quality benchmark for city centre living. This will be delivered through: • Intelligent layouts and contemporary design quality - where space is maximised through attention to detail in terms of layouts, storage, interior design and careful selection of furniture. • An ecosystem of residential accommodation comprising predominantly of ‘Quad’ and ‘Trio’ apartments to deliver a shared living experience, together with studios available on COMMUNAL AMENITY WITHIN SHARED APARTMENTS EN-SUITE ROOM shorter-term lets. • An ‘open to all’ co-working space to provide an affordable entry level space for start-ups, small enterprises and young professionals who want vibrant workspace without hefty overheads or long-term commitments adjacent to like-minded individuals. • An activated destination for both residents and the wider community, which promotes collaboration and networking, social inclusion, capacity building and social mobility, health and wellbeing and interaction with the local communities. • An adaptable, professional and dynamic approach to management founded on a single, long term ownership model, as is the case of all Vita Group’s products. CURATED RETAIL CO-WORKING Floorplans & Accommodation The building will provide a mix of uses, including commercial A range of apartment-types will be provided: LEVELS 02 - 04 space, private residents’ amenity space, co-working levels Co-working Area • 62x 4-bed “Quad” apartments; and innovative new co-living accommodation. • 124x 3-bed “Trio” apartments; All residents at Union will benefit from the generous, curated • 186x Studio / Studio + amenity space across three floors of the building. The commercial space on the Ground and Mezzanine levels will The development is car free and generous cycle parking will be open to the general public, whilst Level 1 will provide a be provided in the basement and the public realm around the dedicated amenity space to residents and co-working staff building. only. LEVEL 01 Union has been designed to be accessible to a range of Amenity Space The co-working space will host a variety of individual and Area: 790 sqm incomes, including to those earning below Manchester’s multi-occupant offices, hot desks and meeting rooms for average salary. people to creatively team work and collaborate. MEZZANNINE Commercial Amenity Area: 595 sqm GROUND FLOOR Commercial Amenity Area: 790 sqm BASEMENT Bike Storage / Plant Area GROUND FLOOR - PUBLIC REALM SHOWN INDICATIVELY AMENITY + CO-WORKING AREAS Floorplans & Accommodation - Amenity Spaces FIRST FLOOR PLAN MEZZANINE PLAN GROUND FLOOR PLAN Floorplans & Accommodation - Union Co-working Floorplans & Accommodation - Union Co-Living TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN Form & Architecture Design Ethos The proposed new Vita Union ‘T2’ is one of a pair of buildings The designs also adopt the Manchester tradition of tri-partite alongside the proposed Vita Union ‘T1’. Together they become sub-divisions of the elevations containing a ‘base’, ‘middle’ a key residential component within the principles of the St. and ‘top’. The typical two-storey high grid is elongated to John’s Masterplan and Strategic Regeneration Framework. three and four stories at strategic locations on the elevations to accentuate these sub-divisions and enhance the vertical The buildings are visually connected and offer a substantial expression of the buildings. architectural presence in the heart of this new urban quarter. The external expression of both ‘T1’ and ‘T2’ incorporates The frame for ‘T2’ is silver-grey in colour to visually connect repetitive grid bays and window framing that is reminiscent of with the proposed surrounding buildings, in particular Factory; the industrial typology in Manchester around the turn of the Manchester Goods Yard and Globe and Simpson. The black last century and which are overarching characteristics of many ‘infill’ also creates strong links with the architectural intent of of the existing and new Approved buildings on St. John’s. these buildings as well as reflecting the overall look and feel of Union ‘T1’ The proposed building will be on the same footprint and slightly lower in height than the approved building on-site. The building is designed by Denton Corker Marshall, architects of the previously approved tower on the site. Other PROPOSED T1 key buildings they have designed in the city includes the Manchester Civil Justice Centre and No.1 New York Street. Approved T2 Massing Proposed Vita T2 Massing THE FACTORY ARCHITECTURAL PRECEDENT IMAGES AND CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAMS Form & Architecture INDICATIVE STUDY OF TYPICAL BAY ELEVATION ‘T2’ AS SEEN FROM ACROSS THE RIVER IRWELL Form & Architecture - Union Buildings VITA ‘T1’ IMAGE FROM PUBLIC CONSULTATION VITA ‘T1’ AND ‘T2’ Form & Architecture - Landscape FUTURE DEVELOPMENT SITE – PUBLIC REALM LAYOUT TEMPORARY Vita engagement Reflection on Co-living Vita has listened to young people’s views and wants to “I really like that the concept takes into account that I am a young professional, it’s not just a family home set up for a couple continue to engage, co-design and develop solutions with or a family, there is much more space for a young professional to socialise and work. I work from home a lot and having young people in order to create a co-living solution for the an actual office space, as opposed to working out of my dining room, is really beneficial to be able to keep home and work city of Manchester that fosters city centre communities whilst separate.” catering for an increasingly mobile workforce by supporting more self-employed, GIG economy workers and start-ups. Having done extensive engagement, consultation and focus “It’s social, it’s secure, it’s central, it’s flexible and it’s also an opportunity. The facilities sound incredible and for the price groups with young people in Manchester, Vita understands discussed it sounds like a great deal.” that demand for co-living is driven by people’s desire for housing choice, quality and affordability of accommodation, and to be social and part of a community. Our Union brand has been developed based on the needs, priorities and rental challenges of young people, and feedback from the “Social element is really important for me, moving from a different city it’s quite difficult to meet people when you don’t know focus groups has contributed to the design evolution of our where you are or where you should be going, so it’s really important to have somewhere you can meet like-minded people.” buildings.