Construction started on 25 January on an Associated Property Investors (API) led £20 million retail and leisure development at 19–31 Manchester Piccadilly. With construction work expected to finish by December 2013, upwards of 100 jobs will be created in the run up to Christmas.
The building is well known in the city as the site of the Woolworths fire in 1979, and was more recently an amusement arcade, and the occupiers of the scheme will be led by Budget hotel chain Travelodge, operating 157 rooms and a 102 seat Bar Cafe. When opened, the hotel will create 32 jobs within the local community. All entry-level roles will be filled via Job Centre Plus. This will be Travelodge’s twelfth hotel in Manchester, fifth in the city centre, and will boost the Company’s rooms to 763 in the heart of the city.
The development will also include a Morrisons M Local convenience store covering 12,000 sq ft and creating around 20 jobs, Zizzi will be occupying 6,750 sq ft, and Nandos is going to take 5,000 sq ft with over 50 jobs being created at the restaurant.
Paul Harvey, Managing Director for Development at Travelodge Hotels, said:
“We are delighted to have secured this prime site in the heart of Manchester city centre. This development will be our fifth hotel in the centre of the City.
“ Manchester has traded very well over the past five years, with a thriving leisure offering thanks to its strong retail offer, vibrant social scene, the Manchester Arena and the continued success of the city’s famous football clubs, City and United. When you also account for a strong business sector, boosted by the MediaCity UK development and arrival of the BBC at Salford Quays, the demand for good quality, value accommodation in Manchester city centre is growing.”