Located on Deansgate, the overall development is being brought forward by Property Alliance Group in a joint venture with Starwood Capital. Shawfield-headquartered Calma Group has been appointed principal contractor for the refurbishment of the former Renaissance Hotel, which is at the heart of the new scheme and will be relaunched under the SH Hotel & Resorts’ ‘Treehouse’ brand.

The contract marks the contractor’s next phase of growth, according to managing director and co-founder Andrew Lafferty.

“We’re delighted to have won this latest contract, which sees our company continuing to grow,” he said. “This is the most recent win in a string of major new hotel, commercial and housing projects. The second of two Treehouse hotels in the UK, it follows Calma delivering the first fast-track scheme for Starwood Capital Group and we are delighted to be invited to undertake another large project for this valued client.”

“As we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year, it’s great to see the business continuing to grow,” he added. “I’d like to thank all of the team for their hard work and dedication in getting us to this stage. We are now well placed for further growth with a strong project pipeline and order book for the next five years.”

The joint venture is redeveloping the original hotel as an alternative to demolishing and rebuilding. This will result in significant environmental benefits, generating around 40% less CO2 compared with constructing a new-build hotel of the same size. In addition to the redeveloped hotel, the Renaissance development will offer office space, car parking and a residential tower featuring 300 new homes.

Working closely with Manchester City Council, the joint venture is creating a landmark scheme unlocking the potential of a prominent part of Deansgate in the city centre and improving connections to the surrounding area, including Parsonage Gardens and the cathedral. The transformation represents the final piece of the jigsaw in the city-centre renewal plan, which was drawn up after the IRA bombing in June 1996.

“We can’t wait to progress this important new project and we’re now recruiting new project teams to work on this and other new schemes,” said Andrew, who founded the business 10 years ago with brother William. New Calma Group projects include new build, strip out, refurbishments and refits for clients all over Scotland, the UK and Europe on commercial, hospitality, healthcare and high-end residential projects.

Founded in 2012 as a family-run business, A.L. Interiors, the Calma Group, which rebranded in 2018, now employs more than 60 staff. Other recent projects have included a flagship new gym in London’s upmarket Chelsea district for Kobox and refits for global hotel chains, such as Holiday Inn and Premier Inn.

The proposals for the Renaissance site are designed by Jon Matthews Architects. Avison Young is the planning consultant and Planit IE is the landscape architect.