Toyoko proposes 22-storey Manchester hotel

Japanese hotel brand Toyoko has revealed plans for its first UK hotel, at 12-16 Piccadilly, in a scheme that includes refurbishment of the listed Union Bank building that occupies part of the site.

Toyoko Inn’s business model is described by the group as “stylish yet affordable business hotels conveniently located in some of the world’s largest cities”. In recent years it has expanded across Asia and has now launched its first European hotels, in Frankfurt and Marseille, which opened in May.

The group’s proposals for Piccadilly include the construction of a 22-storey building providing around 350 hotel rooms on the side of the site currently used as car parking, integrated with refurbishment of the Union Bank, which until 2006 housed a Barclays branch.

The bank building will not be added to in height, and although the scheme will present itself to the street as two separate buildings, the intention is for them to be connected internally, with as many features retained as possible.

The site is bound by Gore Street and Chatham Street, and sits in front of the Waldorf pub and Indemnity House. It sits across Piccadilly from the ABode hotel and B Lounge pub.

Since Barclays vacated the four-storey, 11,500 sq ft building, various schemes have come forward. In 2007 Aneel Musarrat’s MCR Property proposed a nine-storey office scheme along with adjacent new build, while various hotel proposals were mooted, culminating in a scheme by pod operator Yotel for a tower, consented in 2013.

Toyoko acquired the site in 2014 and has since been working to refine those plans with Stephenson Studio in a project that will redevelop the 1911-constructed bank building and blend it with the new build element. Although the consent has lapsed, the principle of development on site has been established, and Place North West understands that dialogue with the city has been constructive over the project.

A refreshed planning application is being prepared by GVA HOW Planning and will be submitted in the next few weeks, with construction targeted to begin in early 2019.

Tamaki Hashimoto, project lead at Toyoko Inn, said: “Our concept of modern, Japanese-style inns located near railway stations has led to rapid growth inside Japan and worldwide expansion. We are looking to expand further in Europe, building on the success of our first European hotel in Frankfurt.

“We have chosen Manchester for our first UK hotel because it is one of the UK’s flagship cities with growing visitor numbers. We are confident our brand will appeal to the growing number of visitors to Manchester from the Far East as well as a more local customer base of business travellers looking for a ‘feel at home’ atmosphere.”

All staff will be recruited locally, the group said. Toyoko hotels do not include restaurants, although they do each include a breakfast room.

A consultation event is to be held on Wednesday 18 July at the nearby Holiday Inn on Aytoun Street, between 4pm and 6.45pm.