Almost twenty years of investment in Glasgow’s waterfront and river corridor is to culminate in the creation of an ambitious new multi-purpose hotel adjacent to the SWG3 ‘cultural campus’.
SWG3, in partnership with award-winning architectural practice Stallan-Brand, have submitted plans for the development of a ‘world class’ 142-bedroom hotel on disused land at the corner of Eastvale Place and Sandyford Street, promising to create over 100 new jobs and a new hub for the local Yorkhill and Finnieston communities.
Featuring two restaurants, two bars, co-working spaces, a gym, a movement studio, and a rooftop terrace, the planned hotel is intended to ‘amplify the local hospitality, tourism, and cultural scenes, while fostering entrepreneurial and international business opportunities’.
Catering for the programme of events at SWG3, as well as the nearby SEC, the planned hotel should provide ‘something distinctive and unique for the city’, said SWG3, spotlighting design and music, elevating the offering for international tourists, and heightening the area’s cultural and leisure economy.
SWG3 is a supporter of Glasgow’s City Plan prioritising investment that treats the city’s waterfront and river corridor as an amenity that should be more accessible and valued. The hotel proposal builds on the company’s commitment to transform industrial backland that once supported a shipbuilding economy into a location for tourism and the creative industries.
Additionally, the hotel represents a further phase of what is called the GRID initiative – the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District – a project aimed at promoting industry and innovation across the communities close to the Riverside immediate to SWG3. The city’s newest pedestrian bridge across the Clyde from Yorkhill to Govan is central to the success of this initiative.
Design director at Stallan-Brand, Paul Stallan, said: “Whilst the SWG3 Hotel is strategically situated to support the immediate regeneration initiative, the hotel will also contribute to the ongoing success of Glasgow’s ‘Hydro Effect’ which has seen the city become a global magnet for major music and conference events.
“As a ‘hotel for music lovers’, the SWG3 team are excited to expand their programme with a new leisure offer that will ensure they remain more visible, vital and circular.”
SWG3 founding partners Andrew Fleming-Brown and Andrew Mickel, alongside hotelier Bruce Robertson and Stallan-Brand, are the driving forces behind the project.
Mr Robertson commented: “As we take our next step towards achieving our vision, we’re excited to show the unique offer of the hotel, with rooms for all budgets where taste is not measured in wallet size.
“In addition to accessibly priced bedrooms, the ground, first and second floors will be a hive of creative and cultural activity with facilities to appeal to the local community as well as hotel guests.
“We aim to not only deliver economic growth for the area but create new jobs, nurture local talent and create a world class destination.”
