Far East Consortium (FEC), the developer behind Manchester’s Victoria North regeneration project, is to welcome Foundation Coffee House to MeadowSide.
The popular local coffee chain has chosen the 2,100 sq ft retail unit on the ground floor of the Stile building and is set to launch its newest site next spring. Overlooking Angel Meadow Park near Red Bank, the 20-storey Gate and 17-storey Stile development forms part of FEC’s £200m MeadowSide scheme. Gate & Stile will be FEC’s second completed development in Manchester following the delivery of Mount Yard at MeadowSide last summer. More than 85 per cent of the 286-apartment development has been sold.
This will be the fourth Foundation Coffee House launched by the brand in Manchester. The original Northern Quarter venue on Lever Street was quickly followed by additional sites on Whitworth Street and Portland Street, after the local team built a reputation for establishing bustling destinations for coffee and brunch as well as evening events and activations.
Location: Angel Meadows, Manchester
Architect: Jon Mathews Architects
In expanding into Manchester’s Red Bank neighbourhood, the independent coffee chain joins a growing community of much-loved, local vendors including renowned spätzle restaurant The Sparrows, indie street food venue GRUB and Green Arches brewery. More announcements are set to follow as part of FEC’s FOUND commercial strategy which is being delivered in Red Bank.
Dominic Beardwell, co-founder of Foundation, said: “We are one of Manchester’s largest independent coffee shops and strongly believe in our brand; the quality of the product, the functional and inspirational spaces we have created and the culture we have imbued within our team.
“We’re excited to now bring Foundation to this part of the city centre and look forward to becoming a genuine neighbourhood hub where we can help develop the local community within our space and through our events. All our spaces are designed with flexibility in mind, so they are great spaces to work and play, from early in the morning to late at night seven days a week. From coffee and brunch to drinks and events.”
Jake Scott-Thrale, asset manager at FEC, said: “Our partnership with Foundation epitomises our approach for our commercial strategy – working with independent and entrepreneurial businesses to activate this lesser-known part of the city. We are incredibly excited to be working with Dominic and Foundation Coffee Team who have established a fantastic independent Mancunian brand.
“We’re looking forward to more people discovering this part of the city centre and welcoming more businesses to the area as we deliver a combination of new homes, green spaces and local amenities to support seven new neighbourhoods and an additional 40,000 residents.”
Victoria North is one of the UK’s largest and most ambitious urban regeneration projects and the biggest in Manchester’s history. It will deliver 15,000 homes in Manchester city centre over the next decade, growing the population by 40,000 people and creating seven new and distinct neighbourhoods on largely disused brownfield land.
Far East Consortium (FEC) is Manchester City Council’s (MCC) exclusive joint venture partner for the project. Having delivered a complex land assembly strategy and worked with MCC to secure £51.6m through Home England’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, the first projects within Victoria North are now underway, with 7,000 additional new homes expected to be in planning by the end of 2022.
