UoM begins search for North Campus development partner

Last week, the University of Manchester submitted a PIN (Prior Information of Notice) to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), to begin the next steps in their North Campus development partner search.

To begin pre-market engagement, the search for an investor to deliver a new “£1.5 billion Innovation District in Manchester City Centre” has begun, with plans to create ‘ID Manchester’ – a 26-acre dynamic, word-class community.

ID Manchester will be adjacent to Manchester’s main public transport hub Piccadilly Rail Station and the HS2 station, allowing quick access to the airport and other major cities in the North of England.

The new space, aspiring for innovative, collaborative, and entrepreneurial creativity, will create around 6,000 jobs in the local area. It benefits from an adopted Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF), which will use the University’s current vision to build the 3.5 million square feet of space for students, as well as creating a public realm.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, said: “We are looking for the very best joint-venture partner to work with us to develop this prime site in the heart of the city which will generate thousands of new jobs and will enhance the reputation of the University and the city as the place where the world’s most valuable ideas are transformed into reality.”

Decisions have been made to use the existing green space and the unique features of the Sackville Street Building, a Grade II-listed building, to re-create the North Campus into a new unconventional hub.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council believes that ID Manchester could be huge. He said: “There are tremendous opportunities to regenerate this distinctive part of the city and we welcome the University’s growth, investment, and job-creation ambitions for the development.”