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Liberty Heights
17 new wakefield 2018.jpg
The tower seen from Oxford Road, Manchester
Former names Liberty Living
General information
Status Complete
Type Skyscraper
Location Great Marlborough Street,
Manchester,
Greater Manchester,
England
Construction started 2010
Completed September 2012
Owner Liberty Living
Landlord Liberty Living
Height
Tip 109 metres (358 ft)
Roof 106 metres (348 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 37
Design and construction
Architect Hodder and Partners
Main contractor Shepherd Construction
Allied Developments

Liberty Heights is a very tall apartment building in Manchester, England. It's also known as Wakefield Street Tower or 17 New Wakefield Street. This amazing skyscraper was designed by a local architect named Stephen Hodder. It was finished in September 2012.

Liberty Heights is located right next to Oxford Road railway station. It stands tall on the corner of Great Marlborough Street. The building has 37 floors and is 109 metres (about 358 feet) high! This makes it one of the tallest buildings in Manchester. It's a bit shorter than some other famous towers like Beetham Tower.

Building History

17 New Wakefield Street 2
Liberty Heights at night

Before Liberty Heights was built, people had a few different ideas for the spot. Over four years, four different plans were suggested for the area.

In 2006, there was a plan for a 65-metre tall apartment building. It looked a lot like the tower that was eventually built. Even though the plan was approved, they decided not to build it then.

Later, in December 2009, the idea came back! This time, the plan was for an even taller building, about 106 metres high.

Construction Begins

The official application to build the tower was made in early 2010. It was approved in July 2010. Just a few weeks later, construction work started!

By November 2011, the tower was already very tall. On April 18, 2012, the building reached its full height of 109 metres. This special event is called a "topping out" ceremony.

When the building first opened, it was called Student Castle. But soon after, its name was changed to Liberty Heights.

Building Design

Liberty Heights is a special building with apartments mainly for young people and students. It's 109 metres tall, making it the tallest building in the world built just for student housing!

It's also the third tallest building in Manchester if you measure to the roof. Its height looks even more impressive because it's built on a slight hill. The building's design, with its "clustered" look, reminds some people of the old Mathematics Tower. That tower was taken down in 2005.

The project has 525 bedrooms. These are spread across four parts of the tower that step up in height. The building sits on a base that covers about 7,000 square feet. There were plans for a car park for residents, but these were not approved. Planners were worried about how a large building in a busy area would affect traffic.

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