Planning application 085177/FO/2007/C3: http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=JS81Z3BC00700

Badly scanned PDFs: http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/MCCList1.aspx?085177/FO/2007/C3

Architects Stephenson Bell, apparently on behalf of Hill Properties.

4356 (!) sq. ft internal space + 3846 sq. ft roof terrace for one single apartment. Apart from Ian Simpson's space at the top of Beetham (8000 sq ft?) that is the single biggest flat I've heard of anywhere in Manchester.

Almost a cliche question, but is this going ahead in the current climate?

What kind of price are they likely to be targeting, assuming it's a speculative build?

There's a handful of flats in the city centre in the £1m range that have been on the market for a very long time...

This makes absolutely no sense at all to me.
But hey - what do i know?

Maybe they think there's a market for an ultra-high-end unit like this regardless of wider property market conditions? Who knows.

Given that 1800 sq ft 'penthouses' in Beetham are asking about 900k, what kind of asking price must they be thinking of for 4000 sq ft + 3800 sq ft roof terrace? Several million I guess.

Planning app decision is due end of this month, I don't see why it wouldn't be granted.

I live just around the corner so will report if building does start :)

A proposal like that makes you think that it would be being built to order for someone with plenty of loose change rather than being a speculative development.

That said, Hill Properties are known to like a gamble, so who knows.

The only thing i can think of is that the developer of the building wants it for themselves.
They have covered the cost of the site (i would presume) which is the biggest single cost in building your own dwelling and want a nice pad for themselves.
What the neighbours think of the disruption during building is their problem i guess but it looks like a pretty funky (and expensive) vanity project to me.

Was just going to say the same thing. The missus helped sort out the finance for this one and the boss was very much an enthusiast as well as wanting to take home plenty of cash.

has anyone from the year 2018 got some blade runner type image enhancing software that can tell me what height this thing is or just something!

No

No

not good enough :ohno:

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii16/Goldie_78/P8030012.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii16/Goldie_78/P8030013.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii16/Goldie_78/P8030014.jpg

Was looking extremely nice in the late afternoon sunshine today (nicer than the slightly dodgy pics make it look). The ground floor offices are fully let too - good work...

as a comparison, the penthouse at dandara's 360 is 3059 sq ft
think they want a million for it

http://www.************/downloads/360-penthouse.pdf

At least two 1800 sq. ft 'penthouses' on the 43rd and 45th floor of Beetham (M3 4LQ) for sale for at 925 / 895k:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-14339621.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-7223878.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

Is there any truth to Ian Simpson's space in Beetham being for sale?

There's also this 3600 sq ft one in Deansgate Quay down the road which has been on the market for a long time:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13547945.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

The theory that it's for the developers themselves sounds somewhat plausible. Or an ultra-high-end speculative gamble...

At least two 1800 sq. ft 'penthouses' on the 43rd and 45th floor of Beetham (M3 4LQ) for sale for at 925 / 895k:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-14339621.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-7223878.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

Is there any truth to Ian Simpson's space in Beetham being for sale?

There's also this 3600 sq ft one in Deansgate Quay down the road which has been on the market for a long time:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13547945.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

The theory that it's for the developers themselves sounds somewhat plausible. Or an ultra-high-end speculative gamble...

Ian Simpson's penthouse is not for sale. A few months ago he said he wants to retire there. Also his penthouse is 12,500 sq ft. 4500 for the indoor garden (which could be converted to living accomodation use) and 8000 for the living accomodation, Ian Simpson said this on camera and so i guess it is accurate. If only we had the cash, oh well.....

Different point, Tony Wilson's old pad which is still for sale at 700k is approx 3300 sq ft. See http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-18573902.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

Going off on a bit of a tangent now but I strongly believe that estate agents and developers should be obliged by law to advertise the size of dwelling by sq ft or sq m rather than merely number of bedrooms. They should also be obliged to advertise the asking price in £ / sq ft or £ / sq m. This way those old chestnuts of inefficiencies in the UK construction industry and the relatively smaller and poorer quality of housing in the UK can start to be addressed.

Anyway as for this penthouse, I wonder if it is out of the bounds of possibility that it is being designed for a member of staff at SB? There is something of a nice symmetry about the thought of two of Manchester's most eminent architects building bespoke penhouses atop two of the best examples of the respective practices' built work, within sight of each other!

Can I just chuck this one in here. From the sublime to the ridiculous.

No takers for 'stately starfish'
Jill Burdett
6/ 8/2008

http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/res/632.$plit/C_71_article_1061279_image_list_image_list_item_1_image.jpg?05%2F08%2F2008%2019%3A20%3A42%3A478

http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/res/820.$plit/C_71_article_1061279_image_list_image_list_item_2_image.jpg?05%2F08%2F2008%2019%3A20%3A42%3A478

IT was supposed to be an English country house for the 21st century . . .

But there were no takers for the futuristic `starfish' Grafton New Hall, designed by international architect Kathryn Findlay and set in 100 acres of rolling Cheshire countryside next to the Duke of Westminster's estate at Stretton, near Warrington.

Now the pink-tentacled modernist mansion has been replaced with something entirely more classical - a 35,000 sq ft Georgian-style stone pile surrounded by formal gardens straight out of Pride and Prejudice.

It will be the £16m home of a wealthy north west businessman who commissioned architect Robert Adam to design it.

Crispin Harris, from Cheshire agents Jackson Stops & Staff, said: "The starfish house was a brave design and I have no doubt that if it had actually been built, it would have sold.

"But it is very difficult for people to grasp how a house like that will work and a risk for a developer to build speculatively.

"The truth is that the majority of people in this country love Georgian architecture and this new design is for an utterly fabulous house in a wonderful setting."

The long list of luxuries in the house includes eight bedroom suites, a library, cinema room, two staff apartments and a leisure suite with indoor pool and gym.

Impressive

Mr Harris said: "As you would expect, the entrance hall is beautifully proportioned and impressive.

"While in Georgian times the kitchens were for the staff, here it is the focus of the house - a huge space for cooking and family life that opens on to terraces and the gardens."

While the new owner is reluctant to be identified, it is believed he works in the financial sector, already lives in the area, has children and grandchildren and intends to live at New Grafton Hall with his family.

It is understood that he has doubled the size of the estate, buying a further 100 acres from the Duke of Westminster.

The mansion may be vast, but it is also `green', with all sorts of eco-features to help keep down running costs.

There will be `ground-source' heat pumps to transfer warmth from the earth to the downstairs floors, solar panels to heat the swimming pool, latest triple glazing, 18-inch thick stone blocks to provide insulation and even wind turbines to generate the mansion's own electricity supply.

The development is being seen as a sign of confidence in Cheshire's economy at the time of a national credit squeeze.

The original `starfish' design was the result of a national competition run by the Royal Institute of British Architects to `create an English country house of the 21st century'.

It came after a Department of Environment ruling in 1997 that only houses of `outstanding architectural quality' could be built in the countryside.

That is depressing for so many different reasons.^^
I think b4mmys lot did the renders for the original concept.
It confirms the idea that money cant buy taste.

How bland...

How bland...

How English.

How English.

How right you are! :lol:

Yes the Starfish was a very interesting idea, but with no takers a number of years ago, the people behind the design went bust. The developer said he was going to build it himself, but never did.

The developer didn't go bust.

The architect went into voluntary liquidation in June 2004. Grafton Hall was granted in 2002, so the non-realisation of the house had nothing to do with their liquidation, as Ushida Findlay had other work - just not enough of it.

http://www.scottisharchitecture.com/article/view/Kathryn+Findlay+leads+new+design+research+unit

This place has come onto the market off plan.

http://www.kingsturge.co.uk/residential/property/jordan-street_manchester_ks8842.htm

Not sure how much use of the rooftop pool you'll get for your 2.8 million.

This place has come onto the market off plan.

http://www.kingsturge.co.uk/residential/property/jordan-street_manchester_ks8842.htm

Not sure how much use of the rooftop pool you'll get for your 2.8 million.

They should build it and rent it as a serviced apartment. The ultimate 5* alternative to a hotel. Touring music artists and business folk could get hire it for their visits and bling parties. They could brand it with its own name and it could be the most famous address in the city.

This place has come onto the market off plan.

http://www.kingsturge.co.uk/residential/property/jordan-street_manchester_ks8842.htm


Nice find, the original planning application I posted at the start of the thread didn't have a pool.

Can anyone find the new planning app on Public Access?

is this thing under construction at the moment?

is this thing under construction at the moment?

No, haven't seen any movement on top of Hill Quays...

This is a one off spectacular penthouse, for which planning permission was granted in August 2009, to create a 5 bedroomed penthouse with 5 bathrooms and in excess of 5571 sqft of internal accommodation, as well as around 3590 sqft of outdoor space. Specification currently includes : Open Plan Living / Dining / Kitchen area, Pool Room, Golf Simulation Room, Private Cinema, Study, Professional standard Gymnasium, Rooftop Swimming Pool, Hot Tub and much more. With a private lift from the basement and six car parking spaces.

Key features:

Off plan opportunity
5 bedrooms & 5 bathrooms
Rooftop Pool & Hot Tub
Gym & Pool Room
Golf simulator & Cinema
Private lift & 6 car parking spaces

http://www.kingsturge.co.uk/residential/property/jordan-street_manchester_ks8842.htm

Yours for a cool £2,800,000.

cheap Laguna Beach,Laguna Beach

What is the location like of this building, are the surroundings good enough for a high end penthouse? I've not been to the Knott Mill area since before the building frenzy.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6826/hillsquay.jpg

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5695/hillsquay2.jpg

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/7431/hillsquay3.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4923/hillsquayplan.jpg

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2494/hillsquaysiteplan.jpg


penthouse hill quays

client: private client

The Penthouse design evolved out of a direct spatial relationship and the quality of the location. The geometric roofscape, as well as being influenced by surrounding scale, was also dictated by the relationship with the sky and the importance of allowing as much controlled daylight into the plan of the Penthouse, so that the sky becomes part of the living space.

One and a half storeys heights at the living and master bedroom ends of the penthouse provide highly glazed volumes and panoramic city views. The mid section of bedroom accommodation are faceted and raking roofs sections provide dynamic internal volume spaces with day light penetration through glazed roof lights.

http://www.stephenson-bell.com/portfolio/penthouse-hill-quays.html#main

Available again:

http://www.jackson-stops.co.uk/cgi-bin/properties/summary_details.pl?propID=37650

Price has gone up to £2.95m.

First image makes it look like a redesign, but 2nd looks fairly familiar. Going for the footballer market?

I think this project may be over. The planned property was removed from the market a couple of days ago and I think planning permission runs out in October if I remember right. Would have been nice to see this built.

Let it run out.

Builds like this are the icons of excess that has led us down the road of destruction.

The modern manor house for us peasants to doff a cap to.

Let it run out.

Builds like this are the icons of excess that has led us down the road of destruction.

The modern manor house for us peasants to doff a cap to.

A millionaire buying a luxury home hasn't led us down the path of destruction, sounds like envious socialist claptrap to me.

The reason the economy collapsed was due to poor legislation which gave bankers the freedom to do as they liked, Labour were responsible for this here if I remember.

Erm....wasnt it thatcher that deregulated the banks not Labour

Erm....wasnt it thatcher that deregulated the banks not Labour

But it was Brown who relaxed the legislation and distanced the Bank of England, thus giving little control over the banks. I mean it has been well publicised, it's not just an opinion it is documented fact. But of course, Labour never take responsibility for anything, it's always somebody else's fault. Oh an no way am I a Tory sympathizer either, all parties are a joke.