Wanted: Operator for landmark hotel at £1bn scheme

Liverpool City Council is to launch an international search to find an operator for a landmark hotel in the heart of its £1bn Paddington Village development.The city council is announcing to the hotel sector at a special event in London this afternoon, that a tendering process with OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) will open next Friday, 20 April.Liverpool’s Paddington Village, which lies within the Knowledge Quarter (KQ Liverpool) Mayoral Development Zone, is fast becoming a leading destination for health, science and education occupiers and the 250-bed hotel and serviced apartment scheme marks the next phase of development.Following a competitive process the city council has already appointed Ryder Architecture to design the scheme and has shortlisted three of the leading hotel companies (Accor, Hilton, IHG) to deliver this gateway plot.Located opposite the new Royal Liverpool Hospital the elegant 15-storey tower will have a commanding presence across the city as the highest venue in Liverpool, and when lit at night it will be the beacon for KQ Liverpool.It is set to include a winter garden, a generous reception foyer and atrium with multi-purpose conference and event facilities, function bar, restaurant and executive bar lounge, fitness suite and meeting rooms.This new hotel would follow the development of three major schemes within Paddington Village, worth more than £100m: The RCP’s new Northern headquarters – The Spine; The Rutherford Cancer Centre North West and a new live-learn centre by Kaplan for Liverpool International College.The £1bn Paddington Village scheme is one of the flagship regeneration projects in Liverpool which currently has £14bn worth of development schemes either on site or in the pipeline.In a recent report then council’s Regeneration Department identified that 2019 is on course to register more than £1bn investment for a record 5th successive year.Operators can express their interest via ProContract – the city council’s-procurement system – .