Gary Neville's £400m St Michael's scheme hits new landmark as giant excavations complete

Alistair Houghton

20 June 2024 at 7:13 am·2-min read

Gary Neville, Director at Relentless Developments, with colleagues in hard hats and hi-vis clothing inside a giant hole in the ground in the centre of Manchester where a 41-storey tower will be built — -Credit: (Image: Relentless Developments)

It’s one of the biggest holes ever dug in Manchester - and footballer turned property developer Gary Neville has climbed into it to mark a major landmark on a scheme that will change the face of the city centre.

His company Relentless Developments, alongside high-rise specialist Salboy, is developing the £400m St Michael's scheme off Deansgate.

Phase two of the scheme will include a 41-storey residential tower with a five-star hotel. Builders from main contractor Domis have been excavating the site where the tower will stand - and have dug out 50,000 tonnes of material, equivalent to 4,167 double decker buses.

Now the work is complete, work on the tower’s foundations can begin. But, before that, Neville and teams from Relentless, Salboy and Domis climbed into the ground to mark the moment excavations reached their lowest level.

Mr Neville said: “Reaching this point in the construction of St Michael’s was really important as anticipation builds for the development’s 41-storey tower. We know this landmark building is going to become an iconic part of Manchester’s skyline and a wonderful addition to our great city.”

Simon Ismail, co-founder and managing director of Salboy Group, added: “When we launched this scheme with Relentless last year, commencing construction of the 41-storey tower was always the milestone we at Salboy were looking forward to most.

"This marks the start of a really exciting period of construction and is a special moment for all the partners involved in this impressive development.”

John Holden, senior project manager at Domis, said: "This is one the deepest excavations the city of Manchester has seen, particularly in recent months, and it will soon be home to the foundations, car park and amenities upon which St Michael's’ 41-storey tower will be built.

"This is a huge milestone and marks the start of us constructing phase two of this wonderful scheme. Great work by the rest of the Domis team and all our partners."

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