McLaren Property has appointed McLaren Construction Midlands and North as main contractor on its £160m Upper Brook Street student accommodation scheme in Manchester. The job is the second major city-centre collaboration between the two McLaren arms, following their work on St Gabriel’s Court.
Enabling works are already complete, with tower cranes erected, site clearance finished and piling concluded. A total of 219 piles have been installed, and slip-form rigs are due to be assembled before Christmas to allow the concrete frame to get underway early in the new year.
The Legal & General forward-funded development will deliver 737 student bedrooms across two blocks of nine and 23 storeys, close to the University of Manchester in the Oxford Road Corridor. The mix comprises 288 studios and 449 cluster bedrooms, supported by shared amenities including a gym, fitness studio, social spaces and a café.
The project also includes new public realm, with landscaped areas, tree planting and a community facility. The buildings will be delivered using a full concrete frame and fully unitised prefabricated concrete panels incorporating integrated brickwork and windows, with bathroom pods supplied off site by Walker Modular.
Completion is scheduled ahead of the 2028 academic year. The scheme is targeting BREEAM Excellent, EPC A and a Platinum Wired Score, with social value commitments to be delivered in partnership with local community groups and the Salvation Army, according to the client.
