Work starts at £25.5m Motel One site

Russells Construction has been appointed by developer Livia to deliver the £25.5m Motel One project in Piccadilly, Manchester.

The 330-bedroom hotel will be 14-storeys high fronting London Road and seven storeys on the Whitworth Street side.

The ground floor of the 105,000 sq ft scheme will include the hotel's reception, a restaurant and bar. The hotel is due to open in 2015.

Designed by Manchester architect Hodder and Partners, the façade will comprise large floor-to-ceiling glazed panels for each bedroom, and the exterior will be finished in a stone coloured smoothed concrete.

Gareth Russell, a director at Russells Construction, said: "The Manchester Motel One will be our largest hotel scheme to date and follows the successful delivery of a number of developments across the country.

"We've established a reputation not only for delivery of hotel schemes, but also as experts in dealing with tight sites in constrained city centre locations. Our major projects team has developed a methodology and a number of supplier partnerships which create genuine cost and programme savings for our clients."

Russells is currently preparing the site and completing the demolition of the existing buildings prior to construction.

Engineer Capita Symonds and mechanical and electrical contractor Vitel have also been appointed to the scheme.

Richard Goodwin, construction director for Livia, part of the Olympian Group of companies, said: "This is a new offering in luxury budget accommodation and we look forward to completing the scheme in 2015."

The scheme is being forward funded by LaSalle Investment Management, who acquired the investment on behalf of an undisclosed pension fund in a £25.5m deal.