Greystar and Henderson Park have exchanged contracts with Tide Construction to acquire the 550-apartment residential development in Croydon, London.

On completion, the 101 George Street development will comprise two of the world’s tallest towers built using modular construction, at 44-storeys and 38-storeys.

The site has full planning permission and the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

Enabling works for the twin tower scheme are already underway at the Essex House site in East Croydon.

The towers scheme, drawn up by HT Design, will be worth over £150m and will be a trailblazer for modular construction methods.

Presently, the tallest prefabricated building in the world is a 32-storey block in New York.

Tide is both a development and contracting company, and has delivered several projects in recent years using its off-site manufacturing system, Vision Modular Systems.

101 George Street is the fourth project Greystar and Tide Construction have delivered and, once complete, will bring the total number of units the partnership has delivered in London to 1,700 units.

Christy Hayes, CEO of Tide Construction, said: “The towers of 101 George Street will stand tall as testimony to the potential of modular construction within the UK and beyond.

“Modular construction is highly suited to rental developments as investors and operators can welcome residents into their homes sooner and open the revenue streams earlier.”

The modules will be shipped from a factory in Bedford with the electricity prewired and plumbing, furniture and windows already installed.

The total build time for the project will take just 24 months, from construction starting to residents moving in to their new homes.

Troy Tomasik, Greystar Managing Director, Investments, said: “This is an ambitious development and an exciting milestone for Greystar which signals our commitment to finding innovative solutions to London’s housing challenge.”

The latest Deloitte Crane Survey shows bumper growth for a second year in Manchester with 20 major residential projects and six major office schemes starting in 2017.

Sustained strong growth means Manchester is enjoying a 60% jump in residential and 75% hike in office projects now under construction with most major high rise schemes.

The 11,135 residential units currently being developed represents the third year of sustained growth in the city despite rising construction costs and uncertainty in the market as a result of Brexit negotiations.

Simon Bedford, partner at Deloitte Real Estate, said: “Manchester has firmly established itself as one of Europe’s fastest growing cities.

“Backed by significant investor confidence, a strong business community, and an influx of new talent, the demand for property, particularly in the residential market, has never been more evident.”

He added: “With the additional investment we are seeing from international markets such as South East Asia, Middle East, and the US, Manchester’s real estate market will continue to develop at scale, cementing the city’s position as a global destination for business, leisure, and education.”

The Crane Survey also reported strong growth in Birmingham and Leeds where developers’ confidence for city centre residential development remains strong.

Birmingham saw 24 major construction starts last year. This was again driven by the boom in city residential developments, up nearly a third to 13 schemes delivering 2,500 new units in 2018 alone.

Student housing schemes jumped to deliver a 53% rise in bedroom to 1,782 spaces. Birmingham’s office development has surpassed 1m sq ft for the second consecutive year, with over 1.4m sq ft currently under construction.

In Leeds residential construction across the city centre hit its highest level in a decade – 1,586 units across five development sites.

Leeds has also witnessed further growth in the higher education sector with four new starts recorded adding over 0.5msq ft into the development pipeline.

Leeds continues to deliver good volumes of new office space with three new construction starts in 2017.

The firm is also closing its central London Aldgate division office and planning to move around 70 staff to new offices on the Olympic Park where they will join relocating Stratford office staff to create a new bigger Barratt East London division.

Under the London business shake-up Barratt’s Brentford division will also be rebranded as Barratt West London.

Sources told the Enquirer that Barratt and joint venture development partner British Land had decided not to proceed with the final phase of the Aldgate scheme, due to launch this year.

Completed phase one of Aldgate Place; abandoned phase 2 plan with 27 storey tower

The second phase of the development incorporated two residential buildings, one of seven storey and the other rising to 27 storeys for retail, private residential and commercial space.

Property website Rightmove reveals more than 400 flats currently for sale within walking distance of Aldgate East tube station.

Gary Ennis, Regional Managing Director, Barratt London: “As part of Barratt London’s growth strategy and focus on delivery of high quality developments across the capital, we are combining our Aldgate and Stratford offices to create one new larger team, Barratt East London.

“This will bring together the skills and expertise across our London teams, and enable us to deliver focused and efficient growth. We are committed to growing our business, building successful new communities and helping Londoners get a foot on the property ladder.”

In addition to the London changes, Barratt is also opening a new division in the East region.

The new division, BDW Cambridgeshire, will help Barratt to increase volumes to meet the growing demand for new homes in the region.

BDW Cambridgeshire already has terms agreed on land for more than 1,000 units and will be creating around 50 new jobs over the next three years, with hundreds more supported in the supply chain and through local sub-contractors.

The division, which will be based in Peterborough and open this year, is focused on strong markets in areas highlighted recently by the National Infrastructure Commission’s Report, Partnering for Prosperity.

The report identified opportunities to create “well-designed, well-connected new communities” for the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford arc.

Joint venture specialist retail developers Westfield and Hammerson can now redevelop and combine Croydon’s current shopping centres – the Whitgift Centre and Centrale – to create the 1.5m sq ft retail-led scheme.

A 13-month demolition programme at the existing Whitgift Centre will begin later this year, with construction due to start in 2019.

Up to 1,000 flats will be delivered in five tower blocks overlooking Wellesley Road. The first two buildings will be developed with the construction of the retail scheme, with the remainder being developed in a later phase.

Plans were first granted permission in 2014, but in October last year an enhanced application was submitted with the addition of a third storey of retail and restaurants, and a new Marks & Spencer store.

Up to 2,500 people will work on the shopping centre at peak construction

The mayor gave the project the green light after it was approved by Croydon Council’s planning committee. It will be the third Westfield shopping centre in the capital, alongside the company’s sites in Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford.

Westfield UK/Europe’s Head of Development, John Burton OBE, said: “The endorsement from the Mayor of London represents a great start to the year for the project and for Croydon.

“The London Borough of Croydon responded positively to our revised outline planning application, and we’re pleased that this has now been approved by the Mayor. Our plans will help establish Croydon as South London’s best retail, dining and leisure destination and deliver new homes and 7,000 jobs.”