The old club house will be rebuilt with a 6,803sqft safe landscaped courtyard and children’s play area plus a 958sqft (GIA) cafe.
LHG (London Hotel Group) has secured planning permission to turn a previously consented residential scheme into a 221 room c40,000sqft apart-hotel. Fulfilling the potential of a vacant 0.5-acre brownfield site on Tooting High Street, the development will include a cafe and restaurant, plus a rebuilt community club house and public green space.
Christian Desira, Director, LHG: "Tooting is a lively and growing area, attracting residents and tourists alike. Our new c£40million apart-hotel development responds to the needs of the local community by creating a purpose-built community hub, as well as meeting a currently unfulfilled need for hotel accommodation for visitors, in and around the Tooting area. The apart-hotel will be operated by a well-known international hotel brand, and will achieve a four star rating."
The consented design creates a simple, high quality building that uses a pared back palette of materials to respond to the character of the area. The old club house will be rebuilt with a 6,803sqft safe landscaped courtyard and children's play area plus a 958sqft (GIA) cafe.
The public areas of the apart-hotel such as reception, lobby, cafe and restaurant will be on the ground floor, with floor to ceiling glass panels expanding the active frontage for passers-by, and including the entrances to the new community club and outdoor amenity area. The new green space will include seating and play areas, mixed with lush planting to create a flexible place for lively games and quiet escape.
The courtyard will also include the light wells that are a key feature in the striking designs for the subterranean hotel suites that make up four of the nine floors of the apart-hotel's accommodation. The lightwells will allow natural light and ventilation to the ground floor and subterranean rooms, with circadian lighting to simulate the day's natural cycle.
Christian Desira, Director, LHG: "LHG has an enviable track record of well received developments, such as the £90 million hospitality hub at 585-603 London Road, Croydon, and the innovative 181 room landmark Best Western Plus London Wembley Hotel. This scheme is a practical example of where we were able to convert a previously granted residential scheme into a stylish and viable apart-hotel."
Formerly used as the Tooting Constitutional Club, the buildings and external areas had been vacant since 2013 and had fallen into a state of disrepair when LHG acquired the site in August 2017, with an existing planning consent for 45 residential units. The scheme is expected to start on site August 2018 with a provisional completion date of July 2020, with an anticipated opening in August of the same year.
Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy.
He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
