Starboard and Priority Sites in £18m Hotel Deal
HOTEL developer Starboard Hotels has joined forces with regeneration specialist Priority Sites to deliver an ambitious £18 million development project in Gateshead.
A joint planning application will be submitted in April for the proposed Gateshead site, on Hawks Road, adjacent to the Sage Music Centre and Millennium Bridge, which currently houses old industrial units.
Starboard Hotels is working with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to secure a franchise agreement to operate a 70,000 sq ft, 202-bedroom Holiday Inn Express hotel on the site, while Priority Sites plans to develop a high grade 40,000 sq. ft office park.
Paul Callingham, Managing Director of Starboard Hotels, said: “We are very pleased to be partnering the UK’s leading regeneration specialist in the delivery of this project.
"The wider development of the area will bring demand for affordable, quality hotel accommodation, and it is this demand that the hotel is seeking to satisfy, working with IHG’s Holiday Inn Express.
"It will be a crucial amenity supporting the wider economic development of the Gateshead area, and will directly employ around 30 people.”
It is anticipated that subject to planning, the development may commence construction later this year, with the intended completion date of both the hotel and office accommodation set for early 2010.
David Carr, chief executive of Priority Sites, said: “This is a unique opportunity to partner, for the very first time, a company who will provide a complementary product to our own.
"This scheme will mirror the kind of progressive developments that are being established across the Tyne, and will make a significant contribution to what is already an up-and-coming part of the region.
“Priority Sites has recognised a need in this area for the kind of business accommodation that will play a crucial role in attracting inward investment, while enabling local companies to expand in order to sustain and encourage employment."
