Plans in for Renaissance revamp as operator picked

SH Hotels & Resorts is to operate the 216-bedroom hotel under its Treehouse brand and a planning application has been lodged for the project, part of the wider £200m redevelopment of the Deansgate site.

The hotel operator is owned by an affiliate of US-based investor Starwood Capital, which bought the site in joint venture with Property Alliance Group earlier this year.

The Manchester offering would be the second Treehouse Hotel in the UK following the brand’s maiden opening in London in 2019.

“Manchester is as much a destination for travellers as a gathering place for its energetic local community,” said Starwood chairman Barry Sternlicht. 

“Our Treehouse Hotel will introduce a new execution of fun and witty, and provide an imaginative hospitality experience. As a sustainable brand, we will reuse and repurpose the existing building.” 

The four-star Renaissance hotel, part of Marriott Group, closed permanently on 15 July 2020 citing weak demand compounded by the pandemic.

Eyebrows were raised when the developers revealed they would repurpose the hotel building rather than demolish it, as many commentators consider it an eyesore. However, others applauded the joint venture for its sustainable approach to the site’s redevelopment. 

“We’re redeveloping the original hotel tower, instead of demolishing and rebuilding, spending £25m to transform it.” said Alex Russell, managing director of PAG. 

“This will result in significant environmental benefits, generating around 40% less CO2 compared to constructing a new build hotel of the same size.”

SH Hotels and Resorts, an affiliate of Starwood, owns the Treehouse brand

Following a period of public consultation, the PAG/Starwood joint venture has now lodged its plans for the hotel element of the scheme, the first of three applications for the wider redevelopment of the site, designed by Jon Matthews Architects.

A separate planning application is to be submitted next month for the vacant Premier House office building, which is to be partly demolished and revamped to provide 40,000 sq ft of Grade A office space. 

A third application, due this summer, will request permission to create new-build residential scheme, featuring around 290 apartments to the north of the site fronting Deansgate and Victoria Bridge Street. 

Russell added: “The Renaissance site has remained undeveloped for more than two decades, so we’re now one step closer to completing the final piece of the jigsaw in the city centre renewal masterplan drawn up after the 1996 bomb.” 

Subject to planning approval, the project could complete by 2023.