Hodder + Partners Proposes 38-Storey Student Tower for Manchester’s Sister District

Hodder + Partners submitted proposals to Manchester City Council for a 38-storey student accommodation development within the Sister innovation district. The project occupies the site of the Charles Street car park between Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations. The Manchester-based practice designed the scheme on behalf of RG Real Estate, ID Manchester, and the University of Manchester.

The design features three interconnected blocks reaching heights of 8, 10, and 38 storeys. This massing configuration accommodates 1,041 student beds alongside ground-floor amenities and commercial spaces. The residential program provides 720 cluster bedrooms, representing 69 percent of the total capacity, while 321 studio units comprise the remaining 31 percent.

The project includes 612 square meters of gross internal commercial area and 1,519 square meters of net internal amenity space. These facilities provide approximately 1.46 square meters of dedicated social and study space for every resident. The development supports the reactivation of Altrincham Street, serving as a gateway to the developing city-center neighborhood.

Integration with the Sister Masterplan

The scheme sits on plot H of the £1.7 billion Sister masterplan, a strategic regeneration framework designed by Allies and Morrison. This 15-year masterplan for the University of Manchester and Bruntwood SciTech will eventually deliver 1,500 homes and over 240,000 square meters of commercial buildings. The broader district focuses on creating an innovation-led urban planning model with significant green space.

In addition to the construction of the residential blocks, the proposal introduces over 0.4 hectares of new public realm. This landscape strategy aims to connect the high-density residential program with active ground-floor uses accessible to local residents. The project follows the approval of two commercial buildings on plot C of the masterplan in late 2023.

The thoughtful design will deliver high-quality student accommodation alongside more than one acre of new public realm and active ground-floor spaces for local residents to enjoy, all located on the doorstep of key transport links and the city’s major universities.

Darren Simmons, Development Director, RG Real Estate

The project team expects a planning decision from the city council later this year. If approved, the tower will anchor the eastern edge of the innovation district, providing essential housing for the nearby universities. The design prioritizes pedestrian connectivity and the integration of transit-oriented development principles within the city’s academic corridor.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

The proposal for plot H demonstrates the intensification of Manchester’s academic fringe through high-density vertical architecture. By replacing a traditional car park with 1,041 student beds, the project advances the Sister masterplan’s goal of transforming underutilized infrastructure into a transit-oriented innovation district. The use of three interconnected volumes of varying heights moderates the scale of the 38-storey tower while maximizing the ground-floor public realm. This strategy addresses the city’s urgent student housing demand and simultaneously activates Altrincham Street as a civic corridor. The project represents a critical shift from car-dependent infrastructure toward a pedestrian-focused urban fabric that links major transport hubs with the university campus.