Approval nears for Echo Building hotel

Plans to establish a 207-bedroom hotel with a rooftop skybar as part of the mixed-use redevelopment of the Echo Building look set to move ahead. The scheme also proposes office and commercial space with a gym and car parking.Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales is behind the application concerning the 95 Old Hall Street venue.Comprising 18 storeys, the Brutalist-style building also includes a three-storey podium below a tower rising 73 metres high. Approximately 650 members of Liverpool Echo staff are due to move out of the podium element as they relocate to the 5 St Paul’s Square grade A office scheme opposite. The tower has been vacant since 2007.The new Corstorphine + Wright-designed scheme involves creating a hotel within the existing 15-storey tower that features 207 bedrooms, a living lounge encompassing a restaurant and bar with an open kitchen, a lounge area, a 24-hour fitness zone, and meeting spaces. Also proposed is a rooftop skybar available to the public that features an external terrace looking out over the River Mersey and glazing on all sides to provide views across Liverpool.The mixed-use scheme includes a trio of retail units spanning 17,335 sq ft that would be accessible directly from Old Hall Street, 44,615 sq ft of category A office space, and a 14,230 sq ft commercial gym.Global hotel operator Meliá Hotels International would operate the venue under its Innside brand, which is aimed at urban and business travellers who want to combine leisure with work.The venue will join Meliá’s current four-strong UK portfolio, which includes Innside Manchester, ME London, Meliá White House and the upcoming Innside Newcastle.It is expected that the international hotel brand will employ up to 300 additional staff when the building opens in the summer of 2019. The redevelopment of the Echo Building is estimated to create approximately 500 jobs in total.Approval has been recommended when Liverpool City Council’s planning committee meets on 3 April.