As the latest buildings gracing the waterfront near completion, Ben Schofield is given an exclusive tour

AFTER dividing opinion in the city for years, Liverpool waterfront’s newest addition will welcome its first residents by the end of January.

The £135m Mann Island development sparked controversy almost as soon as the plans were made public.

But the three black granite blocks have captured the imaginations of househunters looking for a city pad and investors alike.

The Daily Post can also reveal the two residential blocks have been dubbed Latitude and Longitude.

Block 1, which is closest to the new Museum of Liverpool and the Mersey, is Latitude, and Block 2 will be known as Longitude.

A glass-covered walkway between the two buildings will be known as Equator.

The developers last night said almost two-thirds of Latitude, which is nearest to completion, has been sold.

Latitude and Longitude contain 376 apartments between them and have commercial units on street level. The third block will be Merseytravel’s new HQ.

One-bedroom apartments start at £120,000 and the cheapest two-bedroom homes are going for £163,000.

The largest triplex units are selling for around £500,000.

Residents will join celebrity chef Raymond Blanc, whose Brasserie Blanc restaurant chain signed a lease for a unit in Longitude.