WORK has started to restore the sorry looking Mackie Mayor building on Swan Street in the Northern Quarter.
It is an integral part of our Smithfield regeneration project, and its restoration will represent the final piece of the jigsaw
True to their word Muse Developments has appointed contractors who are carrying out essential repairs to the Grade II listed building, replacing the slate roof and some of the glass and carrying out masonry work to make it wind and water tight.
They will also strip back later additions inside, replace perished areas of floor, clean and repaint the columns and obliterate the graffiti. The side canopy will be removed but the rear canopy will be restored and painted.
It’s a not inconsiderable list of works given the state of the building and without the refurbishment it is highly unlikely any new occupier would have come forward to take on the structure.
Wes Erlam, development director at Muse said: “It is a very significant investment but we had to take away the fear factor for potential users. By taking away some of the issues and uncertainties about the building we will create a blank canvas and the focus then will be on finding a sustainable long term use.
“It’s a very special building with a distinctive charm in a great location and we have no fixed ideas on what it could become. The City Council has always wanted a degree of public access and we are hoping people will be creative as the options are endless.”
The Mackie Mayor is one of only two fully intact buildings from the former Smithfield Market left standing, the other now reworked as Manchester Craft and Design Centre. Opened in 1858 it was originally a meat market, later adding fish and other fresh produce but became redundant in 1974 when the markets relocated to East Manchester and it has been empty since the early 1990s. At one time this area of the Northern Quarter hosted the largest city centre wholesale and retail markets in Britain.
Since then it’s been a paradise for both skateboarders and pigeons. Both have left their mark.
It is basically an ornate frame of a building that is still surprisingly light inside given the many boarded up windows and doors. The central open space is framed by the cast iron columns with a high level mezzanine running all the way around and a web of metal beams that hold up the roof.
This will be phase one of any refurbishment so occupiers are going to have to do their sums if they want to install kitchens etc.
It would have been wonderful to have been able to sit under the restored rear canopy and look across a neat city square into the bustle of NQ proper and not the garish One Smithfield which let’s face it could have gone across Swan Street onto any one of the open surface car parks if the city had shuffled things properly. But let’s be pragmatically optimistic because without One Smithfield the Mackie Mayor would probably not have been saved.
This will be the seventh and final stage of the Smithfield Project which began 13 years ago and has delivered, 350 apartments, two hotels and 30,000sq ft of commercial space.
Wes said :“Having finished the development of phase six of the Smithfield project, One Smithfield Square, it was always our intention to continue on to the Mackie Mayor and this is the first step in bringing the building back to its former glory. It is an integral part of our Smithfield regeneration project, and its restoration will represent the final piece of the jigsaw.”
Councillor Jeff Smith, Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration, at Manchester City Council, said: "The Northern Quarter is a key element of the regeneration of Manchester city centre and I'm glad that this heritage building is being restored, paving the way for its long term re-use as part of the successful Smithfield redevelopment."
Contractors Galliford Try are on site now and hope to complete the work by September. Any potential changes of use - leisure, retail or commercial - would have to go through planning. Any constructive suggestions over what the building could be used for would be welcome.