Concilio et Labore

To Manchester, arriving some time before my appointment so I had a walk around.

The image features phase one of the St Michael’s development, by Relentless Developments - led by ex Manchester United footballer and now pundit, Gary Neville. I think the internal spaces are now being fitted out by the tenants, and will be fully occupied by the summer. Phase one is offices with a rooftop restaurant. Phase two behind it is a 40 storey plus tower, apartments and a five star hotel and will complete in 2027. By all accounts It’s proving a huge success.

The initial scheme was to demolish all the existing buildings on the site, but after objections from Historic England and others Relentless were forced to modify the scheme (changing the architect in the process). Amongst some big changes it now retains the Portland stone frontage of the 1930’s Bootle Street Police HQ, which after cleaning now shines in the bright sunlight, and the Sir Ralph Abercrombie pub. It’s a big improvement, and to be fair Gary Neville has said that he got the original scheme completely wrong.

Carved in stone above the doorway to the old police station is the Manchester City motto, Concilio et Labore. Wisdom and effort - two qualities needed to get a big scheme like this right.