Hotel that gave historic building 'new lease of life' named best refurbishment

A Liverpool hotel has won a prestigious award, being named the best refurbished building in the region.

The Municipal Hotel and Spa by M:Gallery, was revealed as the winner of the refurbishment and revitalisation project category in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors 2024 awards. It was credited for giving a "new lease of life" to the historic building on Dale Street, in Liverpool city centre.

Being hailed as one of the most impressive recent building projects in the North West, the Municipal opened in April 2023. Before being turned into a hotel, spa and restaurant destination, the Grade II listed building, which was built around 150 years ago started life as the home of Liverpool City Council.

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The RICS Awards showcase the most inspirational initiatives and developments in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. They recognise outstanding achievement, teamwork and companies. The regional winners, which include the Municipal, have now been shortlisted for the RICS Awards Grand Final, taking place in The Park Plaza Riverbank, London.

Each project will compete at national level, with one of the national winning projects being awarded the ultimate accolade of Project of the Year. Peter Gilliland, Chair of the North West RICS Awards judging panel, said: "These winning projects are a true testament to the hard work and dedication of industry professionals in the North West.

"The talent and collaborative approaches undertaken by the teams behind these projects have resulted in exemplary and innovative schemes that really do represent the very best built projects across the North West. RICS is delighted to recognise the hard work that went behind ensuring these projects were delivered successfully and I wish the winning projects the best of luck in the grand final later this year."

The Municipal Hotel and Spa project is the result of work by FCH Architects in collaboration with Fragrance Group, main contractor Russell WBHO, and consultant teams. They transformed the building which dates back to 1868 into the four-star hotel it is today.

A spokesperson representing Fragrance Group said: "Municipal Buildings represents much more than a refurbished heritage building. Its new lease of life has reinvigorated the illustrious historic district, at the heart of Liverpool."

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