26 April 2012
Manchester's latest hotel development - the 193-bedroom Dale Street
Premier Inn - has been officially ‘topped out’.
Capita Symonds’ Cheadle Hulme office is
providing structural engineering services on the £10m scheme which
will open in this summer.
With the roof now on, the internal fit out
continues and the 12-storey hotel is set to be handed over in the
summer. The hotel also includes a Thyme Restaurant and five meeting
rooms, and will create approximately 50 new jobs on opening.
Representatives from Premier Inn, the British
Steel Pension Fund (which forward funded the scheme), developer
Property Alliance Group, Capita Symonds’ Structures team, Architect
Roger Stephenson Architects and other consultants were given a tour
of the construction site and a sneak preview of a sample room by
the contractor, Russells Construction.
An innovative sandwich panel construction
technique was used to build the shell of the hotel and has all 11
upper floors to be constructed at a rate of one every ten days. The
system, which sees structural concrete panels installed complete
with insulation, windows and the brickwork skin, has been hailed
for its speed, improved safety and aesthetic finish.
Located at the corner of Dale Street and Lena
Street, the striking tower is finished in a blue / black
engineering-style brick, emulating the appearance of the nearby
railway arches on the approach to Piccadilly Station. The Dale
Street hotel will be Premier Inn's fourth in Manchester city
centre, and is within easy walking distance of central shops,
restaurants and Manchester Piccadilly Station.
Gareth Russell, managing director of Russells
Construction, said: "This is an 18-month project but, unlike with a
traditional build, we are able to celebrate the completion of the
entire external structure after just a year thanks to the use of
this innovative panel construction system. The traditional 'topping
out' ceremony is usually held once the roof is on and gives us the
opportunity to thank the whole team for their work so far and
demonstrate to our clients - Premier Inn, the British Steel Pension
Fund and Property Alliance Group - how the project is progressing.
We're pleased with the rate of construction and the internal fit
out is on track for handover of the building later this year."
Richard Aldread, senior project and programme
manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: "Premier Inn is
expanding across the UK on the back of strong demand and our
customer's desire to see more Premier Inn hotels around the
country. We currently have more than 47,000 bedrooms in the UK and
our target is to achieve 65,000 bedrooms by 2016. That is an
ambitious goal, but it is one we are confident we can hit as we
take advantage of the strong Whitbread balance sheet and our
experience in delivering the best locations for our customers.
"The new Dale Street Premier Inn is a great
example as it is right in the heart of Manchester city centre, with
excellent access to Piccadilly train station, and is exactly where
our customers want us to be. It is a stunning looking hotel in a
prime location and we look forward to finishing the build, creating
jobs, and helping to support the local Manchester economy when we
open our doors later this year."