Five star Hilton hotel set for Leeds
A £32m five star ‘new generation’ Hilton is to be constructed near the Leeds Arena with its developer aiming to make it the premier business and leisure hotel in the city.
Revealing the plans to TheBusinessDesk.com at property conference MIPIM, Brandon Riley, director of hotels for Wakefield-based GB Group Holdings, said construction work on the 206-bedroom, 14 storey hotel was hoped to be started in May.
Construction work will take two years with the hotel set to open in summer 2015. Around 300 temporary jobs will be created during the construction phase with a further 100 full-time staff being employed by the hotel owner once it has opened.
GB Group Holdings has signed an agreement with Hilton Worldwide to develop the hotel – which will be the tallest in Leeds – on Portland Crescent, close to the new Leeds Arena, Leeds Metropolitan University’s Rose Bowl, the city’s central business district and Town Centre Securities’ Merrion Centre (see below).
The new Hilton will feature a ‘Sky Bar’, complementing the top floor bar at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at the city’s Granary Wharf development. Hilton also has a hotel close to Leeds train station.
Mr Riley, who revealed plans for the hotel to TheBusinessDesk.com at the Leeds City Region stand at MIPIM, said: “The proposed new upscale hotel will compliment the new Leeds Arena and will significantly enhance the hotel offering in Leeds as well as its international profile.
“The objective of GB Group and Hilton Worldwide is to create the premier business and leisure hotel in Leeds within a stones throw of the new Leeds Arena. The arena has been a major catalyst behind making the development happen.”
GB Group Holdings will develop and own the new hotel as a strategic investment, Mr Riley said.
The Co-operative Bank is providing a part of the funding for the new hotel development through its corporate banking centre in Leeds.
GB Group Holdings bought the site from Leeds City Council in 2011 and Mr Riley praised the local authority, and especially director of development Martin Farrington, for its efforts in helping to make the scheme a reality.
Martin Farrington, director of development at Leeds City Council, said the hotel would bring benefits to the city’s economy.
He said: “This development is a further example of the catalytic impact of the Leeds Arena. It is a measure of the confidence and momentum in Leeds.
“Leeds City Council is delighted that GB Group Holdings is developing this strategic city centre site and that Hilton Worldwide has further committed in Leeds.
“The development is a really positive example of how collaborative working between the local authority and the private sector can make things happen.”
The hotel has been designed by hotel specialist Dexter Moren Associates and is to be constructed by GB Building Solutions.
[VIDEO: 630] EDWARD Ziff, chairman and chief executive of Town Centre Securities, has told TheBusinessDesk.tv, how the property group is looking to explore development opportunities.
“Merrion has been a fantastic performer for us,” said Mr Ziff, who is part of the Leeds City Region delegation at MIPIM this week. “It’s our flagship. It’s maybe not the most attractive piece of real estate in the world but in financial terms it’s awesome.
“It generates a lot of cash and a lot of footfall. We’re collecting more rent from Merrion Centre than we’ve ever collected before and we have more people visiting Merrion than we’ve ever had before.”
Mr Ziff praised Leeds City Council and said his company had a positive working relationship with the local authority.
He also revealed TCS has plans to redevelop the northern end of the Merrion Centre and said there were opportunities to build above and expand the shopping centre.
However, he warned: “These are not times to take those kind of risks lightly. So I think it’s fair to say that any development we do will be quite cautious and it will be well planned.”
