A bidding war could be about to hot up for the patch of Plymouth waterfront land that would have been the site of the abandoned £50million 1690 Hotel.
Top global real estate adviser Colliers International has been brought in by Plymouth City Council to market the land, once home to the now demolished Quality Hotel, situated in a plum position on Plymouth Hoe.
The council wants a high-quality, hotel-led, mixed-use development on the land and interested parties have until November 18 to submit their bids.
Colliers said it has already received “considerable interest” from UK and overseas developers – including from developers which had previously bid for the land.
The site is up for sale again after the ending of an agreement between the council and the original developer, Henley Real Estate Development Ltd, when it emerged that the company couldn’t raise the finance.
The elevated site, which extends to nearly a hectare and has panoramic sea views, was the site of the Quality Inn until it was demolished in 2016 and the site then cleared.
Henley was announced as the new owner in late 2016 and plans for an 11-floor hotel with 80 beds, and a 15-floor block of 88 apartments, were approved in 2017 .
The local authority was hoping the scheme would be finished in time for the Mayflower 400 celebrations in 2020. The “five-star” hotel was even to be called 1620 to mark the connection.
But the development never started with the council’s Cabinet member for finance Mark Lowry saying the company behind the plans had been unable to raise finance for the project and the scheme may even end up the subject of legal action.
He said there was a demand for new hotel beds in the city, driven by economic growth and attractions such as The Box and the new Antony Gormley statue Look II on the waterfront at West Hoe.
Marc Finney, head of Hotels and Resorts Consulting, at Colliers International, said the council’s objective for the site was to secure the delivery of a “high-quality, hotel-led, mixed-use development”, and that this would be a major factor in determining selection of developer and price.
He added that while proposals could include an element of residential use this was not a requirement, although where resident use was included in proposals, the council would consider how these would contribute to the overall quality and delivery of the project.
He said: “This is an exciting opportunity to acquire the freehold for a prime, vacant development site in an excellent waterfront location zoned for hotel development, which is adjacent to Plymouth Hoe with exceptional sea views in multiple directions across Plymouth Sound.
“Plymouth’s hotel market is extremely under-supplied when compared to similar destinations, and the city will continue to benefit from the growing importance of staycations, which has been highlighted during the current Covid-19 crisis.
Sign up to get FREE South West business news straight to your inbox
BusinessLive South West is your home for business news in Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.
You can sign up to receive FREE daily morning news bulletins from the region and we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
How to contact William Telford and Business Live
Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
To contact William: Email: william.telford@reachplc.com - Phone: 01752 293116 - Mob: 07584 594052 - Twitter: @WTelfordHerald - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com - Facebook: www.facebook.com/william.telford.5473
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion in the South West. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute. To sign up for Business Live's daily newsletters click here.
And visit the Business Live South West LinkedIn page here
“In the inaugural Colliers International Covid-19 Recovery Hotels Index, which analysed which cities would see the strongest market bounce back, we predicted that Plymouth would be the top performer in the UK and this has indeed been the case with the city recording highest levels of hotel occupancy in the UK in both August and September.
“Not surprisingly, we have already received considerable interest from both UK and overseas developers, among them developers which had previously bid for this site and know it well.”
A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council said: “The agreement between Henley Real Estate Developments Ltd and Plymouth City Council has come to an end.
“The council has recently appointed Colliers International to market the site and to assist the council in its search for a developer for the site. The site is allocated in the council’s Joint Local Plan for hotel led mixed use regeneration.”
Colliers International is for asking interested parties to submit letters of interest by Wednesday, November 18, to marc.finney@colliers.com
