Four floors of a building above a city centre Pret A Manger have been transformed into 27 apartments – which are all fully let.
Owners of 25 Cross Street Beech Holdings turned the 7,000 sq ft space into a combination of high-end eco-friendly studio and one and two-bedroom starter homes.
Beech boss Stephen Beech said the four floors of the building had stood largely vacant for over 10 years, while a prominent number of successful letting agents were appointed over that period of time and failed to deliver, no doubt to the poor condition.
He said he is delighted to launch the space to entry level professionals.
“Many people know this building as a Pret A Manger,” said Stephen. “But above is a beautiful building which always had great potential. After buying it last year more than 70 workers have worked hard to bring it back to life and transform the interior.”
The 38-year-old is known as ‘Manchester’s Restoration Man’ and is the owner of £65m worth of residential housing stock in Greater Manchester – which includes 17 significant city centre buildings in addition to his already impressive portfolio.
He added: “25 Cross Street will now be a community where neighbours become friends, as only like-minded individuals will be living there, carefully hand-selected by the in-house lettings team.
“It’s fully let and we are proud of not only owning this building, but managing it for the foreseeable future. There’ll be a permanent concierge and we’ve committed to a 25-year loan with Lloyds Bank on 25 Cross Street.
“Developing for long-term retention can only improve the overall quality of the building. It’s very eco-friendly and located in the thriving heart of Manchester city centre.”
It also comes after Beech recently made a pledge to use British steel on all the company’s future projects.
