Trinity Mirror outlines plans for hotel in Echo building
Publishing company Trinity Mirror has submitted plans for the redevelopment of its Old Hall Street office into a 207-bedroom hotel alongside 44,000 sq ft of offices and 17,000 sq ft of retail.
In December, the publisher of the Liverpool Echo newspaper announced that it would be moving its 300 staff out of 95 Old Hall Street, which it has occupied since 1973, to take 25,000 sq ft within the nearby 5 St Paul’s Square.
The offices are made up of a brown concrete podium and tower, which has been vacant for some time, connected to the neighbouring Capital building by a glass atrium.
Trinity Mirror is now working with Trinity Investment Management, owner of the Capital, and Paradigm Asset Management, to bring forward an application to convert the 18-storey tower into a 207-bedroom hotel, and create new retail units and offices within the podium. Trinity is expected to finance the project through its joint venture with US firm Starwood Capital, which invests in hotels.
The hotel brand is yet to be revealed, but occupy a space set to include a restaurant and bar, conference space, and a sky bar accessible by the public.
The outside of the Brutalist tower and the concrete podium would also see improvements, with black granite cladding, horizontal bronze strips, replacement windows, and new fins on each corner or the tower.
There is currently no access into the building from the ground floor, so the new retail units would punch through the concrete façade and try to create more permeability into surrounding public realm.
Corstorphine + Wright is the architect on the scheme. In the planning documents, the studio said “the site presents a huge opportunity to enhance both the urban fabric and public realm in this location and has the potential to be a catalyst for further regeneration.
“As part of ongoing regeneration, the development can play a part in ‘stitching together’ the fragmented areas between the commercial hub and waterfront areas, and the connection between the different buildings.”
- Sony took 65,000 sq ft at the Echo Building in 2019
- The proposals for the hotel include a sky bar on the 18th floor
Good to see this building brought back to life again, with what I am sure will be a very welcome new operator.
By Liverpolitis