Work on One Heritage residential building due to start later this year

Laing O’Rourke and Sir Robert McAlpine have thrown their hats into the ring for a 55-storey tower planned for Salford.

Designed by OMI, One Heritage Tower (pictured), earmarked for Greengate – just across the River Irwell from Manchester city centre – would be the second-tallest in Manchester, eclipsing the city’s previous tallest building, the 47-storey Beetham Tower completed by Carillion in 2006.

The scheme for client One Heritage Property Developments, established by a Hong Kong-based fund, won planning last month, with construction work due to start on site later this year.

A third bidder, Sisk, which is working on a 42-storey scheme in Birmingham called Mercian for developer Moda, is also understood to be eyeing the job.

OMI said the 544-home scheme would include a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments along with duplexes and penthouses. The project will also include a residents’ lounge, a rooftop garden, a pavilion, a gym and a library.

Manchester is experiencing a tall tower boom that has led the city to be dubbed ”Manc-hattan”.

Laing O’Rourke is due to start this summer on a £200m scheme to build a 40-storey tower for former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville’s development company. Known as St Michael’s, the scheme will include a five-star hotel of 191 bedrooms and a further 181 high-end apartments. McAlpine is also building a 22-storey private rented sector scheme in Spinningfields for landlord Grainger.

Local firm Renaker is behind the city’s tallest building, the 201m high South Tower in the Deansgate Square development.

The 64-storey scheme was designed by Ian Simpson’s firm SimpsonHaugh, the practice behind the Beetham Tower, which at the time was known as Ian Simpson Architects.