Elliot swaps residential for hotels at two Liverpool sites

The developer has rejigged two existing schemes to add two more hotels to Liverpool’s booming pipeline, including a 278-bedroom hotel at the £100m Aura and a 260-bedroom offering at Heap’s Rice Mill.

The largest of the hotels will replace part of the residential planned on the Park Lane part of the wider Heap’s Mill site, cutting the number of apartments by 264.

The brand to occupy the hotel is still under wraps but is understood to be a higher-end operator opening its first site in the city.

Elliot Group first secured planning permission to develop the site in October 2014, before selling the plot to Inhabit a year later; however, the scheme never came forward, and Inhabit sold the site back to a company set up by Elliot and Valorem Investment Partners in July this year.

Falconer Chester Hall is the architect, and the development tops out at 16 storeys, including 12,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space set around a new public square. Although a main contractor is yet to be confirmed, the joint venture of Elliot and Valorem is aiming to be on site by the third quarter of this year.

Elliot Group director Elliot Lawless said there had been “significant progress” already at the site, with remedial actions including addressing structural issues around the listed mill building beginning soon.

Elliot has also put forward amends to its Aura project, currently under way on the edge of the city’s Knowledge Quarter.

The amends will see a 142-apartment block on the £100m scheme with a 278-room hotel, understood to be a budget offering. Vermont is the main contractor, after replacing collapsed builder Forrest on the job, and is understood to also be building the amended hotel.

The wider Aura scheme will provide more than 1,000 student flats and has also been designed by Falconer Chester Hall.

Lawless added: “Liverpool’s hotel sector is booming and these changes reflect market demand.

“Occupancy is heading towards 85% and revpar has never been higher and so the city needs new supply, particularly around the Knowledge Quarter and in Baltic, where there is chronic under-supply.”

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Are hotels the new apartments now, good see to this great investment and addition to the visitor economy and that alternatives are there when and if the demand falls for other sectors.

By Boom boom, book a room

The Heaps Mill site in the Baltic is a truly excellent location for a high-end hotel. Right opposite the Royal Albert Dock, the area can only go one way: up! I would predict much more to come in this area. When Merseyside Police relocate we will have one of the best sites ever, available for development: – right in the centre of Liverpool’s ‘inner harbour’, the Salthouse Dock, and opposite the Royal Albert Dock.

By Roscoe

Excellent thanks again

By James

Get it built!

By Sam dunkin

The heaps mill is one of the last remaining depict building in the city Center – once that is converted (the plans look great) then developers will have to look to existing sites that currently have buildings on site will become targets for demolition and redevelopment

By Stuart wood

The visitor economy wouldn’t grow unless we expand the airport with better train connections to the Mainline and a new international terminal – we need daily flights to India, Middle East, USA, south east Asia

By Stuart wood

Great stuff, lets get this built!

By Louis C

Finally…..a definite policy decision surrounding Heaps Mill…incorporating the area’s history…hopefully construction proper can start sooner than later
.

By Anonymous

Key development of an important building…which has been allowed to deteriorate…..council needs to keep a close eye on heaps rice mill as I have heard promise of development of this building a few times ….but it still is not being maintained or even being kept watertight Great location hotel should be very popular

By David

This is good news as high-quality medium and budget hotel stock is badly needed in Liverpool. Well done Elliot Group.
Anything is better than another cheeky chappy thin veneer, themed hotel.

By Mark

As per the recent city residential report, this will be the first of a number of developments in Liverpool to switch from residential to hotel, as thankfully investors are now steering clear of “fractional” sales (shame it’s had to come at the expense of our housing market).

That will only support a certain amount of hotels in the city, with the remainder of ex-commercial buildings left fallow. So much for bringing buildings back to life!

By Mike

So pleased they didn’t knock the mill down!!!

By Lizzy Baggot

Is Elliot Lee Battle’s cousin?

By Old Hall Street

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