While 2025 saw building work begin on what will become the city\u2019s tallest tower, next year will likely have more eye-catching openings and new starts<\/p>\n
Author: Ethan Davies LDRSPublished 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Manchester\u2019s building boom shows no signs of slowing in 2026, with developers continuing to pour millions into the city.<\/p>\n
While 2025 saw building work begin on what will become the city\u2019s tallest tower and Blue Peter move into new studios inside a Victorian market hall, next year will likely have more eye-catching openings and new starts. <\/p>\n
They include an expansion of the Etihad, a potentially world-changing research lab, and massive revamps of the city\u2019s suburbs. Alongside new workplaces and leisure venues, hundreds of new flats and houses will come to Manchester in 2026 as the city\u2019s population continues to grow. <\/p>\n
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has selected 11 major projects either starting or finishing in 2026 to keep an eye on. Take a look below. <\/p>\n
This is what\u2019s opening in 2026Manchester City\u2019s new stand, The Etihad<\/p>\n
Manchester City\u2019s newly-expanded north stand will open in 2026, club directors have confirmed. It will add 7,000 seats to the Etihad, taking its capacity past 60,000, thus making it the Premier League\u2019s fourth-largest arena. <\/p>\n
The project also includes new supporter facilities, like improved concourses and a fan zone, plus a 401-bedroom hotel which will sit between the stadium and Co-op Live arena next door. Ed Dalton, city\u2019s development director said on December 12: \u201cThe north stand itself will open during the 2025-26 football season, with the hotel, workspace and public realm works including the fanzone, opening in late 2026.\u201d <\/p>\n
Greenheys, Manchester Science Park<\/p>\n
Greenheys is a name on the Manchester map which has disappeared in recent years. Sandwiched between Oxford Road and Hulme, Greenheys historically included the University of Manchester and much of its Science Park. <\/p>\n
But the name returns to the map next year with a brand new \u00a360m state-of-the-art scientific facility. Staff based here will research genomics when it opens in summer. <\/p>\n
Notably, it will be home to the UK Biobank, which \u2018follows the lives of half a million volunteers to learn who falls ill and why\u2019 in an effort to find new methods to \u2018diagnose, prevent and treat diseases\u2019. <\/p>\n
Dovecote House, Pigeon Street, Piccadilly<\/p>\n
Affordable housing is starting to become a big thing in the city centre, with Dovecote House another example. Housing association Great Places is building 89 flats \u2014 31 for social rent and 58 for shared ownership \u2014 on Pigeon Street, just off Great Ancoats Street. <\/p>\n
The new building has been designed to fit around the grade II-listed Armitage showroom. Although tenants might not get amenities modern \u2018luxury\u2019 developments boast, like gyms or a spa, they will have a large home, bike storage, and a balcony or terrace. <\/p>\n
Didsbury Point, Didsbury<\/p>\n
Didsbury Point is a 76-apartment block which will open where Withington Hospital used to be, until it closed in 2002. <\/p>\n
Every apartment will be available at affordable rates, let through and developed by Southway Housing Trust. The building will also feature a medical centre on the ground floor, helping improve access in the south Manchester suburb. <\/p>\n
Chorlton Baths, Manchester Road, Chorlton<\/p>\n
Where Chorlton Baths once stood has been reduced to rubble to make way for an over-55s apartment complex. The \u00a314m block, developed by housing association Mossacre St Vincent\u2019s (MSV), will have 50 new apartments \u2014 all priced at social rent levels. <\/p>\n
Council chiefs said \u2018a few architectural stones, some old tiles and other original features have been salvaged\u2019 from demolition and \u2018will be sympathetically incorporated into the new design\u2019, arguing destroying the building was necessary to remove an \u2018eyesore\u2019 in the suburb. <\/p>\n
This is where construction will startChorlton Cross shopping centre, Chorlton<\/p>\n
Chorlton will get a new look in the coming years, as work will start on demolishing its 1970s Chorlton Cross shopping centre in 2026. <\/p>\n
Developers PJ Livesey secured permission to knock down the old centre and replace it with a taller building featuring 262 flats, commercial spaces, and a makers\u2019 yard, in December, despite residents arguing the suburb \u2018deserves a plan that respects its character, meets genuine housing need and gives us a true district centre that we can be proud of\u2019. <\/p>\n
Riverpark Road, Newton Heath<\/p>\n
Some 498 homes are set to be built on the former Riverpark Trading Estate, in Newton Heath. More four in 10 of the 277 flats and 221 houses will be available for social rent or via shared ownership, according to developers Great Places and Kellen Homes. <\/p>\n
But the new residents may not realise what stood before the new homes, as Riverpark Road was home to \u2018The Abs\u2019 for decades, purpose-built in 1968 as the city\u2019s \u2018comprehensive abattoir\u2019. Although it closed in 2000, the site was used well into the 2020s for storage, light industry, and for post-apocalyptic TV and film sets. <\/p>\n
The Poulton, Mayfield Park, Piccadilly<\/p>\n
Work is expected to begin on The Poulton, one of two new office blocks being built around Mayfield Park. The office, along with sister building The Republic and a mobility hub, are set to enlarge the award-winning park by 40pc to 10.2 acres. <\/p>\n
Other plans for the area include a small pocket park called \u2018Pigeon Triangle\u2019, which is hoped to start construction next year. Looking ahead, work is scheduled to start in a few years\u2019 time on 879 new apartments next door \u2014 leading council leader Bev Craig to say Mayfield is the \u2018blueprint\u2019 for new Mancunian neighbourhoods. <\/p>\n
Wythenshawe Civic Centre, Wythenshawe<\/p>\n
Wythenshawe\u2019s long-awaited \u00a3500m revamp began in the last two weeks of 2025, with preliminary work to regenerate the Civic Centre by adding a food hall and culture hub starting in earnest. But more building will start next year, with three sites becoming home to 422 flats and townhouses. <\/p>\n
Homes built where offices Brotherton House, Alpha House, and C2 The Birtles are now will all be available for social rent, Manchester council and development partner Muse have promised. More dwellings are coming on top of those, with around 2,000 eventually expected to breathe new life to the town. <\/p>\n
The Reno, Moss Side<\/p>\n
The Reno, Manchester\u2019s legendary underground 1970s nightclub, is long-gone. But hundreds of people could live where it once was, with Mossacre St Vincent\u2019s (MSV) securing planning permission for 212 flats opposite the Heineken Brewery in November. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s thought construction on six blocks, including specific over-55s apartments and townhouses could start in December 2026. <\/p>\n
Hyde Road, Gorton and Moston Lane, Moston<\/p>\n
Manchester council has talked up its proposals to revamp its district centres, and in 2025 it named Gorton and Moston as the next to get some TLC. <\/p>\n
Gorton is set for a \u00a360m revamp with 400 new homes and revitalised high street, following the opening of a new public square on an under-used Tesco car park and \u2018Gorton Hub\u2019 \u2014 containing a library, Job Centre, housing services, and a GP. <\/p>\n
On Moston Lane, \u00a390m will be spent with a new public square, green spaces, and alley-gates to tackle anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping alongside more 100 new homes.<\/p>\n