Granada HQ to make way for the Grande
DEVELOPER Allied London has fleshed out its vision for a “Miami-style” event hotel at the former Granada TV headquarters in Manchester.
It is to be called the Manchester Grande and will have live performances at the building’s four TV studios.
Guests staying at the 200-bed hotel would have a pass to the night’s entertainment.
The block was commissioned by Sidney Bernstein in 1954 after he won one of the first independent broadcasting licences. It was the first purpose built TV studio building in the country and is where The Beatles made their TV debut in 1962. More recently it was the location of the UK’s first live General Election debate in 2010.
Spinningfields developer Allied London agreed a £26.5m deal for the Granada site through a joint venture with the city council called Manchester Quays Ltd last year. Initially it planned to demolish the old Granada HQ but chief executive Mike Ingall saw the potential in the unusual studio space and its rich history.
Work on the hotel is expected to start in 2016 and will be the first major development at the 13-acre plot which has been rebranded as the St John’s Quarter.
Mr Ingall said: “With the development of St Johns, we’re creating a new neighbourhood in the heart of Manchester. A place that distinguishes itself by its unique cultural history, diverse mix of inhabitants, rich context and its position at the crossroads of Manchester’s network.
“The Manchester Grande event hotel fits perfectly with this vision. The first of its kind in the UK, the hotel is being modelled on the likes of the hotels in New York, Miami and the Far East, where the focus is on food and beverage as well as nightly events including major performance, music, film, theatre and arts and club events.
“The hotel will bring to life the four purpose built integral former sound-proofed studios, where the Beatles played their first ever live TV performance. The purpose built production green rooms, dressing rooms and rehearsal rooms will be incorporated into the hotel and entertainment complex.”
The Manchester Grande will incorporate four restaurants and a number of bars, including a top-floor members club. Allied London intends to retain ownership of the complex. Levitt Bernstein Associates has been appointed as architect.
Allied London has commissioned architect Ian Simpson to draw up a masterplan for the wider site and his proposals include a mix of tall residential blocks along the river with smaller five to six-storey buildings set out along narrow streets that it’s envisaged will house start-ups and other independent businesses such as micro-brewers and bakers.
The Coronation Street set will make way for housing but a number of ITV buildings will be retained including the bonded warehouse and a small building, once used as a creche, at the Coronation Street set entrance that could become a cultural centre reflecting the site’s past. A neighbouring garden will be retained and a boundary wall removed to create more open space. The bonded warehouse is likely to be an incubator space for start-ups and may be a centre for online retailers that want a city centre presence.
