The successful completion of the first stage of the £45m Advocate’s Close redevelopment project in Edinburgh has been marked with the handover of a 208 room hotel by development company Chris Stewart Group (CSG) to German hotel group, Motel One.
The hotel, which is the UK’s first Motel One, links five separate buildings to capitalise on the historical character of the site and some of the most captivating views across the city’s Princes Street Gardens.
In addition to the new 85,000 sq ft Motel One, the 140,000 sq ft site includes 29 serviced apartments, three restaurant spaces (covering 18,500 sq ft) and 7,000 sq ft of office accommodation. All are on schedule for completion in the spring and ahead of the 2013 Edinburgh festival season.
The redevelopment by CSG, a property development and investment business, is set to open up some of the Old Town’s hidden lanes into a thriving leisure and office destination. Remarkably, the whole redevelopment has been achieved without the disruption of large cranes or heavy plant machinery, making it a model for city centre regeneration.
Chris Stewart, CEO of CSG, which has grown its reputation for complex transformational developments in city centrelocations over the last 16 years, said: “It is immensely satisfying to hand over the hotel complex on time and on budget. It has been an intense four year project, balancing architectural heritage with modern requirements for comfort and convenience to create a landmark hotel for Edinburgh’s Old Town. Motel One will be able to make a big impact on the UK market with this prime site and I am delighted we secured an international hotel operator for Edinburgh.”
The Advocate’s Close redevelopment project, which was begun four years ago, has involved working on a site of great historic significance, including preserving or recreating extensive historical architectural features and reinstating the original ‘massing’ or shaping of buildings in a contemporary context.
The site includes one of Edinburgh’s oldest town houses and has revealed buried interconnecting passageways linking Advocate’s Close to Roxburgh Close.
Local stonemasons have built the first crows step gable for over a hundred years and the design and construction of the serviced apartments has retained as many original features as possible, including exposed brick work, gabled ceilings and fifteenth century hand painted wall panels.
Chris Stewart added: “Advocate’s Close is a labour of love with every detail meticulously planned and executed. We have designed-in open spaces and a new ‘square’ as well as ways to create vistas from the top of the close out and over Princes Street Gardens beyond. The serviced apartments and restaurants emerge from the solid remains of fifteenth century Edinburgh, rising above the rooftops to offer a unique 360 degree aspect of the city using materials that will stand the test of modern times and tastes.
“It is a privilege to develop such a site and an opportunity to make an impact with our ethos for quality construction and design.”
CSG is now inviting potential restaurateurs to visit the site and expects to make an announcement about its first letting very soon.