Albany Crown Tower
The Albany Crown Tower (or the Crown Building) was a planned development on Aytoun and Auburn Streets in Manchester England.[4] It would have fronted onto the Rochdale Canal[1] not far from Piccadilly Station and been one of the tallest buildings in Manchester projected to cost £83 million.[2] It was designed by Ian Simpson,[3] for Albany Crown.[1]
| Albany Crown Tower | |
|---|---|
| |
| General information | |
| Status | Approved |
| Type | Hotel / Offices / Residential[1] |
| Coordinates | 53°28′44.4″N 2°14′2.4″W |
| Construction started | 2007 |
| Estimated completion | Unknown |
| Cost | £83 million[2] |
| Height | |
| Roof | 150 m (490 ft)[1] |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 54[1] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Ian Simpson[3] |
| Developer | Albany Crown[1] |
Planning permission was given in 2005 but construction never commenced and the developer entered administration in May 2010.
History
The mixed-use tower's proposed height was 131 m (430 ft), it had 44 floors,[3] providing 35,298.00 square metres of space.[2] The ground floor comprised retail space, while floors 1 to 23 (140,000 square feet of space) would be a hotel and floors 24 to 41 residential, with a penthouse on the top two floors.[5] In total there will be 237 flats.[1] In May 2007, Albany proposed adding a further 10 storeys increasing its height to 160 m (525 ft).[1] Adjoining the tower was a smaller, 11-storey structure, at 49 m (160 ft), with approximately 14,500 square metres of space[2] to be occupied by retail and offices.[5]
A planning application was submitted in February 2005.[6] Albany then purchased the site in October 2005[7] for £6 million.[1] Planning permission was approved on the 11 November 2005.[6]
The site was occupied by five-storey offices designed by David Thomson in 1936 and built between 1948 and 1951 when the architect E H Montague Ebbs took over the project,[8] and occupied by a Labour Exchange,[1] part of the Department of Employment.[9] It was proposed to be demolished in early 2006 but demolition started in 2014. A hotel run by Holiday Inn is currently under construction on the site.[8]
The project stalled due to the failure of Albany Assets to sell apartments in its other developments.[2][10]
Albany Crown entered administration in May 2010 and the construction of the hotel finally put paid to the chance of the skyscraper ever being constructed.[11]
References
- "City towers aim higher and higher". 10 May 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- "Building - 1873 - Crown Building - Manchester". SkyScraperNews. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- "Albany Tower, Manchester". Emporis. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- "Albany Assets Buy Crown Tower Site". SkyScraperNews. 7 December 2005.
- "Albany Crown - Manchester (Official site)". Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- "Manchester City Council: Planning Application Details (074821/FO/2005/C3)". Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- "Crown Building Faces Troubled Times". SkyScraperNews. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- "Aytoun Street Employment Exchange". 2014. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- "Albany wins a towering £6m project". Manchester Evening News. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- "Albany in administration as property sale collapses". Liverpool Daily Post. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- "Albany collapse threatens tower bid". constructionnews.co.uk. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
