New communal city centre garden unveiled at Avro apartments

While city centre properties and private gardens don’t traditionally go hand in hand, award-winning regeneration company Urban Splash has continued its pursuit of creating more green spaces in central Manchester – this time at the Grade II Listed Avro, which sits close to the neighbourhoods of New Islington and Ancoats. 

Offering over 3000 sq ft of curated outdoor space, rich in soft and hard landscaping, the new gardens will be reserved for the use of residents in the building, which is expected to complete later this year and where final apartments are on sale now with a starting price from £350,000.

The rise in demand for green space has grown in recent months, with agents seeing a rapid increase in requests for properties with a garden as lockdown began to ease.  

“The recent months have reinforced just how important outdoor spaces can be; for city dwellers, lockdown has proven a double-edged sword,” says Guy Ackernley, residential director at Urban Splash.

“On the one hand, it was a chance to enjoy the city in relative peace and quiet but on the other, the buzz and convenience that makes city centre living so thrilling was momentarily put on hold as access to green space became limited.  

“We understand the impact of great design in promoting a positive lifestyle and we wanted Avro to be unique in both the living space it offers but also in the way residents can use and enjoy all aspects of the building.  

“The building itself is nearly 200 years old and given that it was originally built as a factory mill, offered extensive floor space to accommodate equipment and workers. This lends itself to the creation of a range of 31 truly exceptional loft-style apartments, but we wanted to offer that little bit more for residents at Avro.”

The communal garden at Avro is an uncommon addition to an urban residential building.  It reflects Urban Splash’s continued commitment  to create developments which prioritise external space and deliver residential schemes in support of both an indoor and outdoor lifestyle. 

Avro is also rich in original features – the hallmark of any Urban Splash restoration project – which have been retained and preserved as the building is brought back into use. 

“The apartments have natural character and style with heritage features such as high ceilings and original windows, and the open-plan living space just adds to the unique setting,” says Guy. 

“We’ve retained so much of the original fabric as it was a brilliant source of inspiration, and there’s nothing that modern architecture can bring that could better a building like this.

“The new garden is an extension of that, using the red brick exterior of the building to deliver a city-centre oasis at the very heart of Ancoats.  

“Featuring plentiful seating areas for socialising or solo relaxation, the garden is both green space and outdoor living area combined. One of the advantages of living within a residential building is the sense of community and at Avro, this is amplified by the use of a communal outdoor space to really draw people together.  

“In short, it is the kind of private outdoor area residents can enjoy as a natural extension to their private living space.  

“Crucially, it means that Avro homeowners can enjoy the benefits of living in the city centre without compromising on access to outdoor space when the sun makes an altogether rare appearance.”A limited number of loft apartments remain for sale at the Avro Building, priced from £350,000.  For more information, you can watch the new Avro film and sign up for Virtual viewings via the Urban Splash website at www.urbansplash.co.uk/regeneration/projects/avro

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