Plans for jenga-inspired hotel in ‘Piccadilly East’ approved by council
Plans by property group Capital&Centric to develop a new 275-bed hotel in Piccadilly East have been approved today (September 19) by Manchester City Council.
The application was approved unanimously with councillors welcoming the ‘brave’ and ‘innovative’ design.
The 110,000 sq ft hotel will be the first development to come forward in the Portugal Street East Strategic Regeneration Framework area.
Due to open in 2021, the Leonardo Hotel will be located on the corner of Adair Street and Great Ancoats Street and will span 13 floors. Planters will adorn the side of the jenga-inspired building providing a crescendo of green from the roof down to the landscaped public areas.
Designed by Stephenson Studio, the hotel recently won the President’s Award at the Manchester Society of Architects awards.
Local people backed the plans with 100% of consultees saying they supported the scheme. The plans will see a new public square, restaurant and bar which will draw in visitors to the area.
Dubbed ‘Piccadilly East’ the area behind Piccadilly train station is one of the city’s biggest development opportunities, which could be akin to Kings Cross in London.
Residents will be moving into Capital&Centric’s nearby Phoenix development later this year with the owner-occupier community landing at Crusader Mill in 2020.
Several independent businesses, including Track Brewing, Chapeltown Picture House and live music venue Yerrrr bar are already bringing life back to the area.
Adam Higgins, co-founder of Capital&Centric, said: “With its award-winning and striking design, the Adair Street Hotel will become a fitting icon for what’s fast becoming Manchester’s most exciting neighbourhood to watch.
“This will be our third development in Piccadilly East and alongside Phoenix and our owner-occupier community at Crusader will bring people back to an area that’s been really forgotten over the years.
“We’ve already got Track Brewing, Chapeltown Picture House and Yerrrr Bar at Crusader and the second Mancunian Spray street art festival taking place this weekend.
“We’ve been working closely with Manchester City Council for a few years to develop a vision for what will be a vibrant new quarter to rival the Northern Quarter and Ancoats, with more homes, hotels, café-bars, pocket parks and offices planned.”
Historically known as an area for its anti-social behaviour problems, Capital&Centric have developed a vision to transform it into a thriving new neighbourhood. With ambitions to deliver more offices, hotels, cafes and bars the social impact developer is kick-starting regeneration.
Adair Street is the second hotel in the area for Capital&Centric, with Ducie Street Warehouse – the multimillion-pound transformation of the former Place Aparthotel – opening earlier this week.
