Another building sale for Gay Village

The four-storey Grade II listed block at the junction of Canal Street and Minshull Street has been sold at auction by Pugh & Co.

The block, No 12 Minshull Street, was offered at a guide price of £12.5m but sold for £3m.

The Ministry of Justice sold the building, which is next to Minshull Street Crown Court.

Future plans for this block are not known but recent Canal Street sales have resulted in plans to convert office or bar space into residential apartments.

However, city property specialists have begun to hit out at the large number of city centre residential conversions.

Mark Canning, director at city surveyors Canning O'Neill, said: “With the continued support of institutional and foreign money, Manchester’s headlong rush in pursuit of the residential gravy chain could have dire consequences for the future success of the city."

Canning has also hit out at the sustainability of more city centre housing, saying design is not good and facilities for local people still missing.

“Perhaps before too long we will see average quality residential conversions that haven’t let, being bought and converted back into offices. No joke. It could happen.”

According to research by Deloitte, nearly 7,000 new apartments are under construction in central Manchester. This figure exceeds the level reached in 2007 – at the height of the last boom - by nearly 3,000 units. As many as 2,600 flats are due to completion this year, with as many again next year – and Deloitte say the development pipeline now stretches out to 2020.

By David Thame for Canal St Online.

Published: 9-Mar-2017: (4164)