Chapman Taylor designed build-to-rent tower ‘Eda’ opens in Salford

Located on a true ‘gateway’ site marking the entry to Salford Quays, Eda (Erie Dock Apartments) is a 29-storey residential tower, designed by Chapman Taylor, which comprises 290 build-to-rent apartments in a range of 1-bed, 2-bed and 3-bed configurations, complemented by a generous amount of amenity space for residents. Helping to ‘anchor’ the tower at the lower levels, both physically and socially, an extensive ground floor and mezzanine level provides residents with well-furnished spaces for working, exercising, and socialising, complemented by external, biodiverse green spaces.

Internal amenities comprise of a series of co-working spaces, residents’ lounges, a cinema room, bookable private dining and entertaining facilities, along with a fully equipped gym and a dedicated on-site concierge and management team. The development also accommodates 4,000 sqft of commercial space (already pre-let to Co-op Food), two shared residential landscaped terraces on both the mezzanine and level 19, and rooftop penthouse apartments that have extensive private terraces.

The L-shaped building footprint maximises the opportunity for active street frontage, helping to foster an active and vibrant scene at the street level. This will help improve the pedestrian experience of the site, which is used by workers, residents and visitors due to the very close Metrolink ‘Anchorage’ tram stop, aided further by excellent local bus routes. The development also provides cycle storage facilities and EV chargers are also available to residents.

Each building "blade" is topped by an architectural “crown”, within which external terraces will provide pleasant outdoor spaces, including a south-facing residents’ rooftop garden with dramatic views over Salford Quays and the Manchester skyline.

The site, on the corner of The Quay and Anchorage Quay, provided an opportunity to create a landmark building, the tallest residential tower in Salford (with a gross building area of 250,600 sq ft), which aims to appropriately mark the urban transition from lower-density housing to the taller, higher-density developments of the Salford area, including MediaCity.

The development has received over 500 inquiries in the first few days of marketing, with a number of apartments already leased. Three show apartments are open for walk-in viewings. A series of curated events for residents and prospective occupiers is also planned through the autumn with partnerships from local retail and leisure operators.

Chapman Taylor created the concept design after developing the project brief with the client. The scheme obtained full planning approval in October 2020 with construction commencing in Summer 2021 and has now completed in September 2023, on budget and three months ahead of schedule.

Commenting on the partnership with Taurus and achieving early completion of Eda, Simon Gallanders, Managing Director of Cole Waterhouse Residential, said: “We’ve worked in close partnership with our joint venture partner Taurus and our contractor Domis to achieve this milestone, taking a highly collaborative approach from start to finish which has had a significant impact on the speed and quality of delivery. We have some exciting collaborations planned with local food and drink establishments, leisure, retail and transport operators to provide discounts and exclusive deals for our new residents who are looking forward to moving into the building this month.”

“The delivery of Eda really has been a great example of a best-in-class partnership working together to achieve a superb sustainable project,” stated Nick Jacobs, Managing Director of Taurus UK.

Eda is Cole Waterhouse and Taurus’ first joint BTR targeted development in the UK. The entire project team celebrated the delivery and handover of the building with an on-site event on 31st August which saw the unveiling of a specially commissioned plaque to celebrate the roles of all the project partners.