Plans for a fifth new skyscraper to be built in the city mean that downtown Manchester could soon resemble downtown Manhattan.
The latest tower - 60 storeys of glass next to Piccadilly station - is the landmark centrepiece of a £220m plan to transform the area around the station approach.
Known as Eastgate Manchester, it will be 617 ft tall (188m). As our mocked-up picture shows, it will join other new developments changing the city's skyline.
SKYLINE: Two of the new buildings as you head towards Salford
Work is already under way on the 47-storey, 515ft (157m) Hilton Tower by Beetham at the end of Deansgate; the GN Tower by George Wimpey City on Peter Street, which will be 23 storeys, 236ft (72m) high; and the 16-storey, 279ft (85m) Civil Justice Centre in the Spinningfields complex off Deansgate.
There are also plans for the Britain's tallest residential tower on the Greengate site just over the river border in Salford, which at 60 storeys and 660ft (201m) would just beat the Eastgate tower.
Peel Holdings want to build a skyscraper on land at Salford Quays and there are several more high-rise buildings in the pipeline.
Eastgate will have a new 250-bed hotel and 700 apartments, plus shops, bars and restaurants, with new public spaces and terraces and walkways along the Ashton Canal basin.
The tower will house the hotel, which will have a sky bar on the 16th floor and about 40 storeys of residential apartments above.
Manchester council chief executive Howard Bernstein said: "It is an exciting project".
Jill Burdett
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It is great that Manchester continues to develop towards officially being Englands second city, if it isnt already. Anyone who desires Manchester to be that city has to agree with the current economic develop that will continue to attract investment from all over Europe and the rest of the World. Let the development continue...
Dave, South Manchester
07/10/2005 at 16:25
Personally i think its great for manchester. the city is now getting a new fresh modern look. i remember going to manchester 10 years ago before the bomb and to be honist i always thought it was a dump. Now i cant stay away. it is now a nice clean city to visit and im proud to say i live here. Inner city living is now more of the norm and the city council seem to have relised that. what someone was saying earlier about not having the population to fill all these tower blocks is rubbish. how many of these apartments to you see for sale or to let. not many
Chris, Leigh
21/09/2005 at 01:47
Manchester DID have a skyline, it was classic victorian architecture that has stood the test of time. Its an absolute disgrace that a handfull of buildings should dominate the city, and no matter how much they will be hated there will be nowhere to turn to avoid them. They should never have been built.
Dave, Didsbury
16/09/2005 at 16:30
Manchester needs yo create a skyline. I agree with the last persons comments that you should concentrate tall buildings in one area. The Beetham Tower sticks out like a sore thumb. What about all the land near victoria. We also need more mix use schemes, not just apartments. We don't have grand harbours like Sydney or New York. Manchester has to build a skyline
David, Manchester
16/09/2005 at 15:19
its great for the city because at the moment manchester doesn't even have the best city skyline in the north west. That acolade goes to liverpools pier head.
Steve, barrow in furness
09/08/2005 at 14:12
I used to live near Manchester and moved to Spain when there was nothing to admire about Manchester. Now I live in Spain and I cant stop thinking how great it is that finally the Mancunians have opened their minds to high rise living. My only concern is that they are aproving skyscrapers all over the city and I beleive that they should have created an area, just for skyscrapers. The area behind the C.I.S tower and down to Picadilly would have been a perfect spot. Also Victoria station has great potential for some swanky high rise developments. Look at any American city and you will see that high rise buildings are allways concentrated in one area. This minimises the impact on the city, especially when Manchester is full of Victorian buldings with spires and towers, such as the refuge building, stock exchange and the town hall to mention a few. Keep up Manchester, your getting there at last. P.S Congratulations with Cathedral gardens and Picadilly Gardens, great designs.
JonathanHirst, Torrevieja, Spain
21/07/2005 at 13:00
i think the buildings are a good idea so long as they're not poorly planned and do not come with serious implications for city. the buildings proposed look great, the glass and lights seen on the artists' impression will revitalise a skyline which currently has some rather drab buildings, much in the same way that the urbis, No1 deansgate etc. have. i would be proud if manchester had such a skyline and it would force the current non-believers to accept that manchester is the best city in the world!!!
rick o'shea, hulme, manchester
25/05/2005 at 13:10
Does anyone know the current status of this proposal. Has it been approved and when it the project scheduled to start. We need to lift the profile of manchester as an international centre for commerce.
steve, eccles
10/05/2005 at 13:10
Why is this good news? Haven't we spent the last 20yrs ripping down the so called 'social revolution' of the 60's tower blocks, that in fact, destroyed the social fabric of society and left many families and individuals in desperation. I for one dont want the horizon blocked out by individual buildings designed and built on the egos of over-rated navvies. Where is the consultation with the tennants of Manchester from the City Council, typical council arrogance ? These buildings have been designed to recoup as much money per square foot as possible, and nothing has been learned from about the social consequences of anti-social architecture.
Andy, Wythenshawe
17/12/2004 at 17:31
I think the main advantage of building these buildings will be that the focus will be taken off the ugly Sunley Tower at the Piccadilly Plaza (they claim to be refurbishing it but I've only noticed the buildings around it changing) and the even more hideous Arndale Building. Despite not being the tallest they are the two things that catch your eye when you see the city from a distance - like from the Barton Bridge.
Martin, Manchester City Centre
17/12/2004 at 02:36
Ian from Cheetam, the Greengate development won't be stopped by London, having the UKs tallest residential tower is a trivial accolade really, it is entirely up to Salford Council if it goes ahead or not.
ssc manchester, manchester
14/12/2004 at 19:57
good news for the city. But what is the situation with the Eastgate development? Has it gone to planning? However, I think we all know that the Greengate development won't get the go ahead.....London will not allow it. Britain's tallest residential buliding....outside London! Hopefully it will get the go ahead, but London bias dictates it wont. Sadly.
Ian, Cheetham
14/12/2004 at 00:56
"In a few years Manchester will resemble downtown Manhatten"...er yeah right! Manchester does not have the population of New York to sustain all this infrastructure. In even more years time Manchester will resemble a ghost town, with To Let signs everywhere...lets get real guys.!
Billy Cawden, Moston
11/12/2004 at 12:28
Quote: "Plans for a fifth new skyscraper to be built in the city mean that downtown Manchester could soon resemble downtown Manhattan." Lol ... er, not quite. New York has 200 buildings over 150m tall. Manchester will have just 5. :-) http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?8497367 But anyway, this tower is fantastic news for the city and will be an inspiring landmark that really adds to the skyline. Judging by the renderings of all these new skyscrapers, they are high quality designs and will hopefully change peoples' negative perceptions of tall buildings, just as Norman Foster's "Gherkin" is doing in London. This is what Manchester's Top 5 will look like in 2009: 1. Greengate Tower - 201m 2. Eastgate Tower - 188m 3. Quay Point Tower One - 175m 4. Beetham Tower - 171m 5. 1 Hardman Square - 150m By comparison, the CIS Tower (Manchester's current tallest) is a mere 118m.
Will Fox, London
11/12/2004 at 12:23
its good for manchester i hate old buildings looks dirty this twenty first century , people going to dubai because of new tall buildings it makes city look clean
sourov, manchester
11/12/2004 at 10:50
I wholeheartedly welcome the additions to M/C skyline. Tall buildings define space. From afar denoting The Citys heart. As I recall We in M/C lead the way in the 60s and 70s. Then nothing for 25yrs or more. Due mainly to an anti high rise Councel. I am glad we are back in touch with the rest of the world. I cant wait to see the view.
John, Droylsden
10/12/2004 at 21:49
Brilliant news for Manc. Rumours of this tower have been circulating for a while now and it's good to finally hear some information on it. Who're the architects/planners? Has this been submitted for planning permission yet? When I return home from Leeds Uni, Manchester will be like a new city and I applaud the council for their bold and welcoming view towards tall buildings.
JP Quigley, Leeds
10/12/2004 at 21:09
Wow, wow, wow Manchester is a city that deserves worldwide recognition and these iconic, gorgeous towers will help increase the name that is Manchester. Superb. I remember leaving for University in 96 without a shred of pride for my hometown. Now all i wanna do is get back asap and help build Manchester into one of ther great European cities.
Steve, New Zealand
10/12/2004 at 20:45
This is great news for a great city. Lets not stop with Eastgate Tower, lets build the tallest one in Europe again. Like we did when we built the C.I.S tower
neil, sale Manchester
10/12/2004 at 19:20
Positive news. The image looks quite stunning - exactly what Piccadilly needs; the current welcome being more than a little embarressing from a so called 'world class city' TM. Lets hope this is a genuine quality proposal for this area - no more one pic gardens please. While we're at it - can something rather more dramatic be carried out on Sunley? Should cement Manchester serious attempt to banish itself out of the Victorian/Post War period for good. Why wasn't Fosters Tower included on the mock up skyline however? One of my favourite proposals by a long arm.
Brynton Chester, Manchester
10/12/2004 at 19:18
I think this is great news for a great city. Lets build the tallest in europe again. like we did when we built the C.I.S tower
neil, sale manchester
10/12/2004 at 19:13
more good news - keep building the towers - as lomg as they are of great quality..this will keep the manchester magic moving on.
mark, salford
10/12/2004 at 19:12
AMAZING news, about time they did something decent with the Piccadilly area! Manchester will surely have the UKs second best skyline! By the way, the rendering of the future skyline is quite inaccurate, it shows the Beetham Tower in the Quay Street area, when it is at the very bottom of Deansgate, and why is the 150m tall Hardman Square tower at Spinningfield not mentioned? That will also have a huge impact and this up and coming skyline.
ssc manchester, Manchester
10/12/2004 at 18:44
of course we need these new tall buildings if this city is to be a world renowned city. for far too long london has been getting too much investment,resulting in the over-heating of that particular area. britain needs more than just one major, modern, forward thinking city, and let it be manchster!
steve rudman, manchester
10/12/2004 at 17:23
All these tower proposals are all well and good but for such big and imposing buildings that will be part of our city for generations to come we have to be absolutely sure they are of the highest archietctural standards. It is equally crucial that they are combined with enough, well designed public open space to prevent the city from feeling even more oppressive than it does already.
optimistic, Manchester
10/12/2004 at 17:20
How fantastic the skyscrapers will be,Why not!Its makes the city look truely international and vibrant.
Chris A, Droylsden
10/12/2004 at 17:08
I don't mind the buildings, but let's have offices as well as the usual apartments and hotels, we need places for all these residents to work as well!
Dan, City centre
10/12/2004 at 16:25
Bring them On. Skyscrapers reflect a confident and vibrant City, Look at the Cities in the far East, for example, they emit confidence and it all down the the architecture and skyscrapers. We just have to ensure that the city does not end up looking like Croydon, ie a concrete jungle with no soul.
Iain, Stockport
10/12/2004 at 13:48
I don't mind new buildings and makeing the city more productive but why not just concentrate on renevating all the sorry old buildings that are about, underneath the 16 layers of posters these buildings do have wonderful character and promote the history of the city.
Tracey, Mossley
10/12/2004 at 13:42
This is great news for the City. I just hope that this development gets built because over the years we have had a number of false hopes! If this, the Greengate development and 1 & 3 Hardman Square go ahead , Manchester will have the makings of an excellent skyline, which is necessary if we have aspirations to become a truly world class city. Long man Manchester's regeneration with ambitious architecture continue!
James, Manchester
10/12/2004 at 13:18
this is fantastic news, buildings like this will firmly put manchester on the world map,,get them all built soon as possible, this shows there is a market,for office and residential,buildings in manchester
dave, denton,manchester
10/12/2004 at 12:14
Great news although there has been a lot of rumour about another tall one near Piccadilly for some time. This city needs to get back those higher densities which make great urban areas really buzz. Hopefully this will spur on the redevelopment of that between Picc station and Pin Mill Brow.
Craig, Manchester
10/12/2004 at 11:44
yes we need millons!
future architect, london
10/12/2004 at 11:32
Its about time !!! Although Manchester resembles a building site at the moment, in the long run this will attract more businesses & tourism. "Build it and they will come"
Steve, chorlton, Manchester
10/12/2004 at 09:59
The higher the better! The skyline in Manchester will look fantastic in a few years. This is a great sign of how successful our fantastic city is.
Jonathaan, Heaton Mersey
10/12/2004 at 09:44
