Landlab Development has secured planning permission from Liverpool City Council to convert the former George Henry Lee department store into a 175-room hotel.
Located at 20-48 Basnett Street, the building was constructed in 1853 as a George Henry Lee department store, passing through the hands of several businesses over the years including Selfridges and John Lewis.
Three attempts – in 2013, 2018 and 2019 - have previously been made to convert the building into a hotel. However, all attempts failed.
Now Landlab’s proposal to convert the building - which comprises 14,233 sq metres of floorspace over nine floors – into a 175 hotel with a ground-floor bar and restaurant, a seventh-floor terrace, and a sixth-floor sky bar and restaurant. The hotel will be operated by Accor under its Mama Shelter brand.
Roman Sumner Associates is the planning consultant on the scheme.
Why it matters
This conversion into a hotel – as well as Z Hotel’s planned conversion of a vacant office block – further echoes the increasing industry interest in such conversions as ground-up development continues to remain difficult and many buildings remain vacant due to challenges in the retail and office sector.