Ask:PATRIZIA have appointed Russel WBHO to build a new 344-room hotel development at the Baltic Quarter on Gateshead Quayside
Gateshead Council approved planning for the 180,898 sq ft, nine-storey hotel in March 2023.
Construction on the hotel development will begin towards the end of the year and take two years to complete.
The hotel has been designed by AHR Architects and will feature restaurants, bars and business meeting rooms and a gym. It will be built on an l0.5-acre s at the corner of Quarry Field Road and Hawks Road.
It will accommodate visitors to The Sage International Conference Centre and Arena, which is being developed opposite the hotel.
A network of footpaths and crossings will connect the hotel to the rest of Quayside and to Gateshead town centre.
The hotel development will boost the local economy
It is estimated that the hotel will accommodate 210,000 guests per year and help drive tourism in Gateshead, contributing around £13m to the local economy. The hotel development will create around 75 full-time jobs with a further 40 new roles across the regional supply chain.
Russell WBHO specialises in hotel construction and has delivered 2,500 bedrooms across 12 hotels in recent years.
“As a recognised specialist in hotel construction, we are extremely pleased to confirm our appointment to this new project in Gateshead. We take a collaborative partnership approach to delivery, and our team is working closely with the client and the local authority in readiness for a project start later this year,” said managing director Gareth Russell.
“As part of our commitment to responsible sourcing and social value, we will look to secure labour and materials from local suppliers wherever possible and ensure the project provides training and apprenticeship opportunities for local young people,” he continued.
Russell WBHO will work with local schools and colleges to provide career advice as part of the company’s ESG agenda to help encourage more young people into construction.
The hotel will be partly funded by the Levelling Up scheme
The government is providing £20m of funding towards the hotel as part of the Levelling Up initiative.
“Russell WBHO has a proven track record in the leisure sector, and we are delighted to be partnering with them to deliver this superb new hotel for Gateshead. We’re looking forward to making a swift start on site and seeing the creation of another valuable asset for the Quayside area,” said John Hughes, managing director of Ask Real Estate, on behalf of the Ask:PATRIZIA partnership.
The hotel is one of many developments taking place at Gateshead Quayside. The North East Local Enterprise Partnership provided £5m from its Local Growth Fund to develop the area as part of the Newcastle Gateshead Quays scheme.
A further £7m came from the government’s Getting Building Fund. This was used to build a new link road between the Baltic Quarter and the A184 as well as a new multi-storey car park.
