Past Projects

The Chapel, Manchester

The former Welsh Baptist Chapel has been transformed into an award-winning student residence, providing 87 high-quality apartments.

The Chapel

‘The Chapel’ – formerly known as the Welsh Baptist Chapel, was the first first major church project between Czero Developments and Church Converts. This ambitious Grade II* listed church conversion created 87 student apartments along with leisure facilities, both within and beneath the building. Bold in scope and award-winning in delivery, it became a flagship scheme for Empiric Student Property.

When work began, the chapel was little more than a roofless shell in a derelict state. Its greatest asset was its location — less than a mile from Manchester City Centre and directly opposite the university. The initial rescue phase was led through a joint venture between Church Converts, Derek Latham, and Mike Copestake. Following extensive negotiations with Historic England, planning and listed building consents were secured in 2014.

Czero then advanced the scheme on a forward-funded basis to Empiric. A modern steel-framed structure was inserted within the historic shell, with a new roof designed to match the original profile. Skilled masonry work restored the exterior, while inside, a complex and contemporary building took shape. In a remarkable engineering effort, the former graveyard was excavated to create an underground leisure complex.

The project was delivered with HH Smith of Bury as the main contractor and Buttress as project architect, setting a benchmark for future large-scale adaptive reuse schemes.