The proposal for the the 4.7 acre (1.9 hectare) city centre site includes 1,200 homes in six interconnecting towers.
Developers Allied London said it hoped to submit a planning application for the "Trinity Islands" project south of Liverpool Road this summer.
The project is part of plans to develop the St John's area which includes ITV's former Granada Studios site.
The broadcaster relocated from the city centre location to MediaCityUK, Salford in 2013.
The former Coronation Street set, which has been hosting visitor tours since April 2014, will be removed in early 2016 before the site is returned to Allied London (AL).
An AL spokeswoman said the area near Liverpool Road has "historically been a difficult site surrounded by highways and infrastructure".
She added that plans for Trinity Islands included shops, offices and restaurants alongside a "green space".
Proposals for the wider 15-acre (six hectare) St John's neighbourhood involve up to 2,500 apartments, two or three new hotels, event spaces and small shops and businesses built on narrow streets.
AL said it intends to submit its planning applications to Manchester City Council soon and hoped to start building the St. John's neighbourhood in mid-2016.
Details have been revealed on plans for a "vertical village" in Manchester.