Ducie Street Warehouse overhaul completed

Aparthotel operator Native has launched Ducie Street Warehouse, the refurbished former Place Hotel near Manchester’s Piccadilly station.

The redbrick warehouse was sold for around £20m by Goldman Sachs to Ares Investment Management. The project was developed by Ares, Manchester-based developer Capital & Centric, and Native, with Native retaining a long-term operator role.

A lot of the project has centred around removing modern interventions put in by earlier owner Opal, and restoring historic features such as brick-vaulted ceilings and iron columns.

The grade two-listed property is now made up of 158 studio, one-bed and two-bed aparthotel suites as well as eight penthouses.

In addition to the apartments, the ground floor contains an all-day lounge, mini-cinema, coffee shop, restaurant, private meeting and dining rooms and outdoor terraces, operated by Bistrotheque through its Cultureplex arm, with three class-based fitness studios operated by Blok. There will also be a florist opening near to the entrance.

Guy Nixon, founder and chief executive of Native, said: “Ducie Street Warehouse is a new breed of lifestyle-focused UK aparthotel. We wanted it to be a location that attracts Manchester’s residents and workers alike as well as overnight guests. To do so, we recognised the need to bring on board outstanding operators that had the ability to activate 20,000 sq ft of ground floor space.”

Archer Humphryes Architects designed the scheme, while Styles & Wood was the fit-out contractor.

Native is also set to be the PRS operator at Kampus, the £200m mixed-use scheme being brought forward by Capital & Centric and Henry Boot Developments, also funded by Ares.