UK: Plans to convert the Guild Tower in preston in to an aparthotel have been approved by the local council.
The £10 million 15-storey project will also include a casino, gym and spa after plans were approved by the city council.
Chief architects and masterplanners the Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP), have designed the project, which will be known as Villa Urban.
FWP is leading the rejuvenation of some of the city’s most important assets including the historic Victorian Market and the iconic 1970s Guild Hall complex.
Now, the multi-disciplinary architecture and construction firm is now set to transform Preston’s tallest office building into a 105-room aparthotel with a casino, spa and gym.
Seb Salisbury, architect at FWP, said: “We are delighted our plans for the Guild Tower have been approved and we look forward to delivering this ambitious and visionary regeneration scheme to transform this part of Preston city centre. We’re already seeing that take shape in the way it is breathing new life into the Guild Hall and the start of a new Market Quarter nearby. These are exciting times for Preston and Villa Urban simply adds to the conviction that positive things are happening in the city centre.
“We have designed a stylish mixed-use development with a modern aparthotel that will attract visitors into the city centre, along with a casino and spa and gym facilities that are also designed to complement Guild Hall complex’s role as a 21st-century leisure destination,” he added. “The Guild Tower is currently unloved and poorly used in the context of the surrounding buildings and public realm. Our masterplan will revitalise this part of the city centre and will complement the significant improvements to the bus station and surrounding area. The Guild Hall complex needs more uses and better connectivity to once again become a venue that is very close to the hearts of many Prestonians. In all our designs and concepts we are committed to breathing new life into what had become a tired building. Our work seeks to better connect the Guild Hall with the public and the city centre, drawing more people in to its growing list of attractions. The Guild Tower proposal is part of this vision.”
www.fwpgroup.co.uk</p
