Property development company Views has announced it has submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council to transform the Grade II listed former textile finishing factory at 42 Bloom Street into 39 distinctive apartments.
Acquired by Views earlier this year, the building dates to 1880 and was originally part of a long street where mill owners displayed their wealth through grand Venetian architecture. Purchased by cotton manufacturers and calico printers, Simpson & Godlee in 1891 as offices and warehouses, the building changed hands in the 1960’s and 1980’s and was most recently home to Essential Nightclub from 2000 to 2014.
Nick Wiggans, Senior Asset ManagerOur whole project team are honoured to be working with this gem of a building, the likes of which are increasingly rare. We aim to breathe new life into this piece of Manchester’s industrial history and return it to its former glory, while bringing it up to a standard of living Manchester has come to expect.
“These new homes will appeal to professionals in the city, who are looking for a unique and considerately designed place to live that celebrates the building’s past and is curated for comfortable and convenient living.”
Designed by architects Fletcher Rae, the proposals create characterful and generously sized one, two and three bedroom apartments, each different to the other in size and layout (ranging from 508 sq ft to 1038 sq ft) and containing restored features including pillars, fixed machinery and even an original hoist.
The original double height loading bay on Bloom Street will be transformed into the main entrance to the apartment building while the other original doors and windows from 1880’s will be fully restored.
John Clarke, director, Fletcher Rae said: “Working with Views on 42 Bloom Street has already been a great journey with the building forever revealing its historic, architectural details. As well as the design of each individual apartment we are paying great attention to the resident’s journey through the building from the grand new entrance all the way to their apartment front door, so they are part of this unique property without it feeling like they’re living in a museum.”
Views has created a design that will enable the building to be connected to any future expansion of the City District Network.
42 Bloom Street is very well connected to Greater Manchester’s public transport network and national rail links, with Piccadilly station and Metrolink link trams close by. Views is providing cycle storage for each of the apartments.
Other members of the design team include planning consultants Ashton Hale, structural engineers Renaissance and M&E advisors NOVO and heritage consultancy from Turley.