A new £4.4million hotel will open in the heart of Inverness later this year to ease a shortage of tourist accommodation and help revive the city centre.
Travelodge is to launch its third hotel in the Highland capital on the city’s Academy Street.
The five-floor Ballantyne House is being transformed into 54 rooms of budget accommodation, as well as a new bar and cafe.
The major investment was hailed last night as a key step towards regenerating Academy Street and tackling the city’s shortage of hotel beds.
Built as offices and opened in 1977, Ballantyne House has been home to several organisations over the years, including serving as the Press and Journal’s Highland headquarters until we moved to Stoneyfield Business Park in 2004.
Planning permission to convert it into a budget hotel was granted by council officials under delegated powers at the end of 2014.
Development firm Maven Property has now announced that it had acquired the 23,000sq ft office and is investing £4.4million into the redevelopment project.
The new accommodation will be leased for 25 years to Travelodge, the UK’s largest independent hotel chain, and will become its third outlet in the Highland capital, adding to those in the Stoneyfield and Fairways areas.
Mike Smith, chief executive of city centre organisation Inverness BID, hailed the move.
“It’s really good news to a have a new hotel coming into the city centre,” he said.
“It will increase hotel capacity, which at times last year got pretty stretched.
“It’s also a good statement for Academy Street and the regeneration work going on a various buildings in the area.”
Mr Smith added that it was an exciting time for the area, following the recent opening of the Black Isle Bar on Church Street and Pentahotel on Academy Street, and with plans for new nightspots such as the proposed Revolution Bar on Church Street and Cairngorm Brewery Bar on Academy Street.
“It’s great to see the private sector investing in the city centre,” he said.
Inverness Townscape Heritage project was established in 2015 to work on the regeneration of Academy Street including working on the AI Welders building, which is currently being renovated, and improving Station Square.
The Travelodge plans emerged after busy Inverness hotels reported occupancy rates in the city of up to 95% last summer, with demand boosted by the Scottish Open being held at nearby Castle Stuart Golf Links, and the growing popularity of the North Coast 500 tourist route.
Work on the conversion of Ballantyne House will be carried out by Drum Capital Projects and is expected to be completed late this year.
Paul Johnston, investment director at Maven, said: “I am delighted to have added this property to our growing hotel portfolio and to be working in partnership with Drum and Travelodge.
“Maven has been keen to invest in Inverness for some time and Ballantyne House has proved to be an excellent opportunity for our investors.
“The city is a key destination for tourism and leisure, drawing in visitors from across Europe and beyond to discover the beauty of the Scottish Highlands.
“The new hotel is well located within the city centre and will be ideally suited for all types of customers with a host of amenities on its doorstep.”
Graeme Bone, managing director at Drum Property Group, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Maven and to be developing a new hotel in the centre of Inverness for Travelodge.
“The provision of new hotel accommodation and facilities in the town centre will deliver real benefits for local residents and visitors to Inverness, whilst providing additional economic impact for the city and the surrounding area.”
