Work is set to start soon on turning an historic shop building in York into a new hotel.
YorkMix reported in March that 48 Coney Street had been bought by a hotel operator.
It was home to the retailer TK Maxx. When it shut in 2022, the building was earmarked for a Hard Rock Café before that deal fell through.
On sale for £4.95 million, the building was acquired by Criterion Capital, a developer owned by billionaire Asif Aziz.
The company is going to turn the property into a Zedwell hotel. The Zedwell concept is automated hospitality.
Planning permission for the ground floor of the building to be turned into a café and the upper floors to become a 64-room aparthotel was granted in July 2023.
That came before the Hard Rock Café plans collapsed.
But work has to start before 13 July this year when the three-year-long permission would lapse.
Now Zedwell York Central Ltd has applied for several changes to conditions in the planning permission before it begins work.
These conditions cover things like cycle storage and a noise impact assessment.
Zedwell hotels feature self check-in kiosks, digital key access and 24/7 AI-powered WhatsApp assistance.
There are five Zedwell hotels in London, and the brand recently expanded into Oxford.
Built in 1907 number 48 Coney Street features a striking Grade II-listed mock-Tudor facade.
Zedwell says: “The redevelopment will preserve the building’s character while introducing a contemporary hospitality use designed for modern travellers, contributing to the continued regeneration of the iconic Coney Street.”
