Work to turn shipping warehouse into easyHotel starts soon
THE conversion of a shipping warehouse into Manchester’s first easyHotel is due to start towards the end of the month.
Buttress Architects’ conversion of the building into a 115-bed is to start on-site on June 27.
The facility is conceived as a series of rooms ‘stored’ within the refurbished Bradley House in the city’s Northern Quarter.
Buttress has designed a new easyHotel branded room to be installed within the listed building, allowing the character and features of the warehouse to be expressed around them.
The building will be restored with new windows to the ground and lower ground floors, reinstating the original facades.
The original goods entrance on Dale Street once again becomes the main entry to the building, leading into a compact reception space whose glazed screen defines the public and private areas of the hotel.
Gavin Sorby, managing director of Buttress Architects said: “It’s a fantastic use for a building that has gone through a difficult period in recent years, and a great location for the hotel.
“The wider advantage of easyHotel is the contribution it will make to the rejuvenation of this part of Manchester. The absence of front of house facilities within the hotel creates a ready market for nearby businesses to service.”
Buttress is working with Paragon Building Consultancy as project manager, and integrated property services and projects delivery specialist Styles&Wood as main contractor on the scheme.
The projects team at Styles&Wood will deliver the full internal strip-out and refurbishment of the Grade II-listed, five-storey building to create the 115 hotel rooms, in addition to the modern reception and back of house areas.
Gideon Levene, head of projects at Styles&Wood, added: “Tourism in Manchester is thriving. As a destination it’s continuing to attract high numbers of visitors who come to the city for leisure and business, and demand for hotel space is high.
“We have experience working globally in the hospitality and leisure sectors, particularly across a number of high-profile hotels in Dubai, and are looking forward to supporting easyHotel as it embarks on this new venture.”
This is the first of a number of planned developments for the easyHotel Group, which is actively considering other sites and buildings with Buttress, in key cities across the UK.
