KEIE and Beetham have revealed further details about their £1bn King Edward project on Liverpool’s waterfront.
The joint venture partners recently confirmed that a planning application for a ‘pathfinder’ tower of 27 storeys will shortly be submitted and at MIPIM they revealed that the scheme will include two hotels offering 400 bedrooms and luxury branded residences in a single tower of up to 60 storeys.
KEIE and Beetham hope to attract a five-star hotel operator for one of the hotels, which would be the first in the city. The joint venture partners also confirmed their ambition to involve renowned skyscraper designers Simpson Haugh in their first Liverpool building.
Hugh Frost, chairman of Beetham, said: “We are creating a destination and a new district in the city centre and the mix and quality of uses and operators will be key to its success. A waterfront of Liverpool’s quality deserves only the best and we are here talking to hoteliers about how we can give them the setting to showcase their brand for the first time in the Liverpool market. The growth in the city’s high-end tourism market, particularly cruise passengers, gives us the confidence that this will succeed.”
Chris Bolland, from Liverpool-based architect Brock Carmichael, added: “This is all about creating a new destination to which blue chip occupiers will naturally gravitate. The best restaurateurs want to be next to the best hotels and office occupiers, so everything is conceived with that circularity in mind. We are delighted to be curating an outstanding design team that we hope will also include Simpson Haugh, and global design practice firm 3XN.”
