Esh Construction’s commercial build division has been awarded a £3.6m contract to transform an existing commercial office building at Cobalt 3.3 into an 80-bed Travelodge on behalf of Union Property Development Ltd.
Located in the busy North Tyneside Cobalt Business Park, the development will see the existing two-storey office converted into 68 rooms and a lightweight steel frame extension constructed at the southern end of the building for the remaining 12 rooms. A bar café and reception will be located on the ground floor and the existing lift replaced to provide access to the upper storey.
With construction set to commence in the coming weeks, Esh has been appointed as the design and build contractor to deliver the development, working in partnership with design team – Wake Morley, Portland Consulting Engineers and kyoob.
Gary Dobson, Divisional Director at Esh Construction, said: “We are delighted to build on our relationship with Union Property with this latest award, having recently secured the £10m Hexham Bunker retail development. The scheme is a great addition to Esh’s commercial build portfolio, with over £80m of projects currently underway within the division we look forward to bringing our expertise to this project.”
Peter Carruthers, Consultant Project Director at Union Property, said: “Despite the economic uncertainty brought about by COVID-19, we are as committed as ever to delivering our development pipeline. The building is currently under-used and its conversion to a hotel will provide much needed additional hotel capacity to Cobalt Business Park and the wider area. This is our third development for Travelodge, and we are particularly pleased to appoint Esh Construction to work with us once again.”
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman, concluded: “We are very excited to be working with Union Property Development Ltd and Esh Group on the development of a Travelodge hotel at Cobalt Business Park. The area is rapidly growing, however, there is a shortage of good quality, low-cost accommodation within the area and the new Travelodge is ideally situated for offering great value to visiting business and leisure travellers.”
We are delighted to build on our relationship with Union Property with this latest award, having recently secured the £10m Hexham Bunker retail development. The scheme is a great addition to Esh’s commercial build portfolio, with over £80m of projects currently underway within the division we look forward to bringing our expertise to this project.”
