DEMOLITION work to make way for a new Hilton hotel in Hull city centre has got under way.
Developer Lexington Avenue Leisure Ltd was given planning permission for the 167-bedroom complex on the former Lexington Avenue nightclub site in Ferensway in July.
Work on the four-star hotel will now begin in a few weeks once the demolition work has been completed.
Business development executive Tony Howard said: “We have started work on demol- ishing a Humber Electrical building.
“After that, which should be about three to four weeks, we can begin the piling work in preparation to begin the main hotel block.”
Mr Howard is pleased with the progress being made with the hotel, which is expected to be ready by the end of next year.
He said: “We are on schedule at the moment and we are happy with how the work is going.
“People will really start to see the progress when the hotel begins to take shape, which should be about February time.”
Mr Howard believes the new hotel will help trigger further projects in the run-up to Hull becoming UK City of Culture 2017.
He said: “We believe bringing a Hilton hotel will attract further tourism accommodation as the city grows.
“Businesspeople have been staying in hotels outside of Hull because there isn’t the quality here.
“But we believe this is an exciting prospect for the city, which meets these needs.
“We are trying to lift the offer of quality accommodation in Hull.”
The development will also provide a much-needed employment boost, with somewhere in the region of 100 full and part- time jobs being created, from waiting and bar staff to supervisory and management roles.
During construction, a further 400 to 500 jobs are being created.
As well as the hotel, the development will feature a restaurant, a gym and a conference centre.
The site also includes nearby land and buildings formerly occupied by Humber Electrical and a further parcel of land on the east side of Spring Street.
As well as the hotel accommodation, the development includes a large function facility that has capacity for up to 950 guests, which will be used for a wide range of events, such as weddings, exhibitions, award ceremonies, sporting events and major business launches.
The six-storey building will be on a series of levels, with the highest part to the front overlooking Ferensway.
Mr Howard also feels the building itself will prove an asset.
Councillors on the city council’s planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the scheme in July, saying the need for more accommodation is vital to the city’s growth.
Former Locarno ballroom site
The site of the new Hilton hotel started life as the Locarno ballroom in the early 1960s.
Originally hosting big jazz bands, it later embraced pop and rock groups, attracting diverse acts such as Jethro Tull and The Sweet.
A name change to Tiffany’s in the 1970s coincided with the disco revolution and another change in musical direction.
In the late 1980s, the name changed again after a fresh makeover, this time to Lexington Avenue – or LAs.
The good times finally came to end in 2005 when the venue closed after its owners went into receivership.
The building was bought by Hull City Council in 2008 as part of long-term plans to develop the site.
It applied for £4.2m of National Lottery funding to help to build an £8m youth centre, which was unsuccessful, leaving the future of the site unclear until now.