Hotel conversion for rundown Northern Quarter building

Located within Manchester’s Smithfield Conservation Area, 68-70 High Street is in line to be redeveloped under plans approved by the city council. 

NQHS Property, run by Manchester-based entrepreneur Adam Karim, is behind the proposals to refurbish the upper floors of the building into a 26-bedroom hotel. 

The upper three floors were last used as offices but are believed to have been vacant for more than 20 years. The ground floor is given over to retail uses. 

The design brief for the project is for “compact but efficient hotel rooms in a prime location within Manchester city centre”, according to a design and access statement prepared by Seed Architects.

It is hoped the scheme will “encourage a true social engagement with the city and local area”, the D&A statement states.

A spokesperson for Seed Architects said: “It’s a great project which rejuvenates what has long been a vacant building, in a prominent part of the city centre.”

Northern Planners is the planning consultant for the project. 

To learn more about the project, search for reference number 138110/FO/2023 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.