The council said the deals had been made in the wake of the credit crunch and the financial crash of 2008, when there was “very little market interest in the area”.
A spokesman added that “each parcel of land was valued by independent experts… and the best overall deal was achieved for each site”.
But Leaver said while developments in Manchester had “dwindled until around 2012,” the market had “picked up from 2013 onwards”, around the time the Manchester Life partnership was formed.
He pointed to what he called “significant investment” by 2014 and 2015, and a “growing new population in Ancoats”, the Royal Mills project, the Ice Plant development, and the regeneration of Cutting Room Square.
“Small trendy businesses were also in the process of moving into the area, indicating that gentrification was already under way in Ancoats as a natural spillover from the successful regeneration of the Northern Quarter, before the Manchester Life agreement was sealed,” Leaver said.
“Land values were rising and developers were beginning to rediscover profitable opportunities and take more risk following the financial crisis,” he added.
The original Manchester Life plan envisioned more than 6,000 homes built with investment of up to £1bn over a decade.
So far, the schemes have delivered about 1,500 homes, across nine sites in a “£1.25bn programme of regeneration,” according to the council.
It is not clear whether the difference in the outcome and the original plan has had any impact on how much the council was in line to receive from the overage deal.
But the council said it had calculated that the overall payment to the council equated to about “£26,000 per home… representing an above-market return for land that had failed to attract market interest since the 2008 financial crisis”.
The spokesman added: “This includes 1,500 new homes – with hundreds more on site now – the preservation of two historic mills, 30,000 sq ft of commercial space attracting a wave of independent businesses, and thousands of new residents, while also generating above market land returns for the council.
“The regeneration of Ancoats and New Islington is… an internationally recognised success story – not least Ancoats being named one of the best places to live globally.
“More than 3,400 homes have since been completed in the area by a range of developers, including homes for social rent and affordable tenures”.