Whitbread and Dominvs Group have put forward plans for a mixed-use, office and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme at One Medlock Street, Manchester.

Situated within Manchester City Council's First Street Development Framework area and forming part of the City’s Southern Gateway, proposals devised by the partnership will see the demolition of the existing five-storey Premier Inn hotel and the introduction of 36,000 sq m of flexible, Grade A office space designed for the evolving occupier market, with access to external amenity space on each floor.

Adjoining the office building will be purpose-built student accommodation, designed to incorporate a generous step back from existing residents at City South while providing 1,014 high-specification, professionally-managed student rooms. Situated close to the campuses of the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), the scheme responds to a pressing need for more sustainable, well-located student accommodation in the City.

The proposals for One Medlock Street mark the third time that Dominvs has joined forces with Whitbread. In 2018, the duo partnered on the delivery of a 180-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and Bar + Block Steakhouse in Milton Keynes. Dominvs is also currently developing another 400-bedroom hotel under Whitbread's Premier Inn brand in Hammersmith.


Plans for the site have been designed by a high calibre design team including local architecture studio Jon Matthew Architects, who have led the design of several landmark developments in Manchester including Axis, Oxygen and Brazennose House, and Planit-IE, an award-winning landscape architect with a track record of delivering transformative regeneration projects in Manchester.

Further enhancements to the site include a new public realm – including a landscaped pocket park and rain garden – to bound the current streetscape. The plans will also improve permeability in the area by creating green streets connecting the site to the wider First Street Regeneration.

The proposals are expected to support 475 jobs and a £198 million productivity boost during construction. Once completed, the scheme will provide room for 2,200 office jobs and contribute £1.6 million in business rates per annum.

The PBSA element meets urgent requirements for student accommodation, in the context of recent reports of critical shortages of beds within Manchester. The proposesd scheme will be delivered in the optimum location within walking distance of both main university campuses. PBSA also frees up privately owned homes in multiple occupation (HMOs) to ease wider affordability constraints in the City. In the 2020/21 academic year, The University of Manchester and MMU attracted 44,635 and 35,940 students respectively, while only 26,830 purpose-built student beds in Manchester remain available, reflecting the demand/supply imbalance.

If current demand levels from students continues to grow at the rate of 3.2% per annum then up to 14,772 additional students will be forced into privately-owned HMOs, taking vital supply away from the broader rental market.