Friday, March 1, 2024 6:00 a.m.
For decades, young professionals moving to a new city for their first job have been faced with the familiar choice of working with friends to secure an apartment or taking a gamble by sharing a house. I did.
But that could change as the real estate giant begins construction on the UK’s first flats in Manchester.
Union, a £300m project, is located in the St John’s area of the city centre, on the site of ITV’s Granada Studios, and is owned by the Cheshire-based property giant run by Stockport County owner Mark Stott. It is the brainchild of Vita Group.
The property, touted in its marketing as “one of the UK’s most significant residential buildings of the past decade”, is the first to use technology to match housemates based on “age, gender, sociability, consideration and cleanliness”. This is a used property.
According to Vita Group statistics, around 160 young professionals have already emigrated, around 40% of them from London.
Union will have 1,676 beds, with 870 bedrooms opening in the first phase and an additional 806 bedrooms opening in 2025. The largest co-living development currently in operation consists of 705 beds.
Russell Hayes, director of housing at Vita Group, said: “The rental industry has long sought innovation and new products to meet the needs of today’s more transient urban renters in their 20s.
“That’s what Union is all about: creating places that are not only functional but also aspirational for people starting out in the city.
“For these people, we play a vital role as the perfect host, helping our residents form new friendships, making it easy for them to come and go, and matching our needs with theirs.” Let me do it.
“We know there is a huge demand, and while there are marketplaces that serve individuals, there are no products designed for individuals. We created this unique room-by-room rental model that leverages technology to help you connect and find new housemates, removing many of the common stumbling blocks people face in the early stages of renting. ”
Union uses the group’s SmartMatch technology, which uses algorithms to match customers based on their lifestyle and lifestyle preferences, creating apartments filled with flatmates who are more likely to gel. It is intended to.
Later this year, Union will also launch a social app for residents that will help young professionals connect with residents with common interests across the building.
The technology was developed by Vita Group’s in-house technology team led by CTO Jonathan Tizard, former head of technology at Ladbible and Missguided.
Mr Tizard added: “We know that people will live better together if they have more in common and minimize things that can be frustrating over time. That’s the purpose of Smart Match. “It helps bring like-minded people together,” and can increase your chances of getting a ride.
“Our social apps help build communities. We’re not trying to compete with large incumbent platforms like Instagram or Tik Tok. For us, we want to remove that initial awkward greeting and help people expand their network. Plan events together, work out as a group, make friends and explore the city.
“If you like the person you live with, you’re more likely to stay there,” Tizard concluded.
