I'm correct in thinking this is the Sarah Tower site?
093555/FO/2010/C2

Dale Street/ Lena Street
Manchester
M1 2HP

"Erection of 12 storey hotel following demolition of existing steel structure"

This?

http://www.stephenson-bell.com/portfolio/premier-inn.html#main

http://www.stephenson-bell.com/images/portfolio/premier-inn/premier-inn-2.jpg

A premier inn.

Yes that definatly the Sarah Tower site yesevil.

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=L4PQ59BC6K000

Great find with the renders CDX that is for sure it as on the planning application Stephenson Bell is noted as the architect.

Dare I say that I don't like it, given the sites current disastrous and deserted state? Dale street is full of beautiful buildings and a black block, with similarities to the Holiday Inn on Oxford Road, just doesn't cut it.

Good find CDX.

Another signature SB building/design. Similar to the Oxford Road hotel and in some aspects Chets.

You either like or hate the blandness of it. Me, I love it. Plain and simple.

The license for the new Premier Inn has gone online today.


Premier Inn, Dale Street (at junction with Lena Street), Manchester

Application Type
Premises Licence (New)

Proposal
Proposed trading hours for the supply of alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises:
Mon to Sun 1000 to 0030
New Years Eve: 1000 until terminal hour on new years day
The premises shall remain open to permit the sale of alcohol to residents 24 hours a day.

Proposed trading hours for the provision of regulated entertainment (films, indoor sporting events, live music, recorded music, performances of dance):
Mon to Sun 1000 to 0030

Proposed trading hours for the provision of facilities for making music and for the provision of facilities for dancing:
Mon to Sun 1000 to 0030

Proposed trading hours for the provision of late night refreshment:
Mon to Sun 2300 to 0030

Proposed opening hours for the premises:
Mon to Sun 0600 to 0100
The premises shall remain open 24 hours a day for hotel residents and
their bona fide guests.

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500047/city_centre/610/city_centre-current_licence_applications/10

thanks for the tip-off guys

Sarah Tower reborn as Premier Inn

22 Sep 2010, 10:17

Property Alliance Group is planning to build a Premier Inn hotel on the site abandoned by Bashar Issa on Dale Street.

Architects Stephenson Bell have submitted a planning application on PAG's behalf for the 193-room, 12-storey hotel.

PAG has agreed a deal in principle with administrators KPMG, acting on behalf of Bank of Ireland, which was owed £17m by Issa Developments before it failed. Bashar Issa was declared bankrupt owing £69m in 2009. The sale is subject to planning consent being achieved.

Sarah Tower started on site before the recession but never got passed the start of the steel frame erection. This will be dismantled and the new block built in its place on the corner of Lena Street and Dale Street.

Manchester City Council is due to decide on the application in December. Pending planning consent, construction will start immdiately with practical completion due early 2012. Russells Construction has been instructed as contractor.

The hotel will be the fourth Premier Inn in Manchester city centre and will join Malmaison, ABode and City Inn near Piccadilly station.

Dominic Pozzoni, commercial director of Property Alliance Group, said: "This site acquisition and lease agreement with Premier Inn demonstrates Alliance's keen ambitions to step up development opportunities in the North West and we're delighted by the quick progress and strong relationship we've formed with Premier Inn to bring an exciting scheme to fruition. Our architects have worked closely with Premier Inn to design a stunning building and together with its Russells Construction we will ensure this new build Premier Inn hotel will be a great success."

Heatons Solicitors LLP and Jenics acted on behalf of Property Alliance Group and Cobbetts and King Sturge advised Premier Inn

just a pity it isn't going to be near the same height as the Sarah tower scheme, even an additional 4 floors would have made a huge difference. Still, better than leaving the site an eyesore.

---

This thread seems to be a bit mixed up. The first page has comments about the Boddingtons site and the proposed Travelodge but then recently the thread has changed direction and now seems to be about the former Sarah Tower site on Dale Street.

?????

Agree that it's better seeing something built here to replace the existing eyesore and Premier Inn serves a purpose I suppose but would really see a market for more boutique style hotels in the Northern Quarter similar to the Velvet hotel on Canal Street

Manchester Confidential.

Premier Inn takes Sarah Tower site
Bashar Issa site sold by administrators to Property Alliance Group

http://www.stephenson-bell.com/images/portfolio/premier-inn/premier-inn-1.jpg

Premier Inn has submitted plans to build a new hotel on Dale Street in Manchester city centre.

The hotel will be built on the site of the proposed Sarah Tower, one of several abortive schemes owned by collapsed developer BSC Group.

Trafford-based developer Property Alliance Group has agreed in principle to acquire the site from administrators at the Manchester office of KPMG and has signed up Premier Inn to operate a hotel on the site.

Architects’ firm Stephenson Bell has submitted a planning application for a 193-bedroom, 11-storey hotel at the corner of Dale Street and Lena Street.

If the scheme gets consent, construction will begin towards the end of 2010 with practical completion due early 2012. Russells Construction has been instructed as contractor.

http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/images/2010922story-hotelview2revisedfinal01small.jpg

For Premier Inn, the new hotel will be its fourth operation in Manchester city centre.

Dominic Pozzoni of Property Alliance Group, said: “This site acquisition and lease agreement with Premier Inn demonstrates Alliance’s keen ambitions to step up development opportunities in the North West and we’re delighted by the quick progress and strong relationship we’ve formed with Premier Inn to bring an exciting scheme to fruition.

“Our architects have worked closely with Premier Inn to design a stunning building and together with its Russells Construction we will ensure this new build Premier Inn hotel will be a great success.”

Heatons Solicitors LLP and Jenics acted on behalf of Property Alliance Group and Cobbetts and King Sturge advised Premier Inn.

http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/images/2010922story-hotelview1revisedfinal04small.jpg

http://www.stephenson-bell.com/portfolio/premier-inn.html#main

Wow very nice. I love black brick. Looks quality.

Is it black? Looks grey. So grey that it reminds me of the submarine bunkers in Das Boot. Or a brick whale floundering.

Real miss mash of architecture styles there in just one small photo. I remember my first time in Leamington Spa and thinking how the white uniformity of that town is so markedly different from Manchester's splatter of styles, colours and shapes and contours that make up the city's buildings.

Pink jumper, orange shirt, lime trousers and blue socks.

It's awful.

I hate it.

Elevations from the plans,
http://i52.tinypic.com/2qsv343.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/20t5wg5.jpg

Should provide a good bit of 'natural surveillance' for the canal, having the dining area on that side & level.

It is very 2-4 Oxford Road v.2 :| But I do like the slants and slices that are cut into it (which weren't as apparent in the original renders). I do like it but like I've said, just a shame it won't be that noticeable from further back whereas before we had a tower to compliment the height of 111.

I can't remember what Sarah Tower looked like, but no doubt it was a steel monstrosity designed by someone equally as incompetent as Bashar Issa. But I believe that due to the amount of listed properties in the area, they should bear in mind the scale and design of neighbouring buildings. Otherwise in 10 years time, fashion and design will change and once again, everyone will be commenting on how this building got planning permission etc. 111 Picc probably looked ok when it was built...now look at it.

Previous design - 'Sarah Tower'

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/P15-sarah20tower-A.jpg?t=1285526183

TBH I think we should be grateful that this site is finally going to be developed properly. The thought of it staying as it currently is for years to come was frightening.

All docs are now online.

Photographs of the current site. :lol: Oh Issa, what have you left manchester with?

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?093555-dsx-0007.pdf

Renders and models of the proposal. Look how seamlessly the hotel sits alongside the other buildings on Lena Street. What is there not to like about this proposal? http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?093555-dsx-0002.pdf

More of the same. http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?093555-dsx-0001.pdf

http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/MCCList1.aspx?093555/FO/2010/C2

What a horrible dark lump of a building.

Not sure if this has been posted yet. Sadly no news update on Axis.

Property Alliance Group, the Trafford-based developer and investor, has signed up the UK’s largest and fastest growing hotel brand, Premier Inn, to operate a new hotel at its recently acquired site in Manchester city centre.

Property Alliance Group acquired the former Bashar Issa Sarah Tower site from the appointed administrators, KPMG, and its architects, Stephenson Bell, has submitted a planning application for a 193-bedroom, 11-storey hotel at the corner of Dale Street and Lena Street in the Piccadilly area of the city centre.

Upon planning consent, construction is due to commence towards the end of 2010 with practical completion due early 2012. Russells Construction has been instructed as contractor.

For Premier Inn, the new flagship hotel will be its fourth operation in Manchester city centre, and establishes its presence in the Piccadilly district of the city adjacent to Piccadilly mainline railway, Piccadilly Place and other hoteliers, including Malmaison, Abode and City Inn.

Dominic Pozzoni of Property Alliance Group, adds, “This site acquisition and lease agreement with Premier Inn demonstrates Alliance’s keen ambitions to step up development opportunities in the North West and we’re delighted by the quick progress and strong relationship we’ve formed with Premier Inn to bring an exciting scheme to fruition. Our architects have worked closely with Premier Inn to design a stunning building and together with Russells Construction we will ensure this new build Premier Inn hotel will be a great success.”

Kevin Murray, Acquisition Manager - North, said: "This is one of Manchester's most exciting hotel development opportunities and being part of it is good news for Premier Inn and good news for our customers. The location is ideal for Premier Inn and will allow us to increase our city centre presence at a strategic site adjacent to Piccadilly railway station. With the hub of development activity in close proximity, we are confident this new hotel will be a highly successful and busy operation for us."

Heatons Solicitors LLP and Jenics acted on behalf of Property Alliance Group and Cobbetts and King Sturge advised Premier Inn. http://www.propertyalliancegroup.com/description.php?id=88

Was this approved today?

Planning meeting was covered on Twitter, but doesn't mention the decision,

http://twitter.com/PamelaWelsh

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/1356/planning_and_highways_committee

Was this approved today?

Planning meeting was covered on Twitter, but doesn't mention the decision,

http://twitter.com/PamelaWelsh

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/1356/planning_and_highways_committee

Yes! :)

PNW.

26 Nov 2010, 16:12

Manchester City Council has approved plans for a hotel to be built on the site abandoned by Bashar Issa on Dale Street.
Property Alliance Group proposes a 12-storey Premier Inn hotel with 193 bedrooms. PAG bought the site from administrators KPMG, acting on behalf of Bank of Ireland, which was owed £17m by Issa Developments before it failed.
Sarah Tower started on site before the recession but never got passed the start of the steel frame erection. This will be dismantled and the new block built in its place on the corner of Lena Street and Dale Street.
Russells Construction was instructed as contractor to build the hotel and is expected to start immediately with practical completion due early 2012.
The hotel will be the fourth Premier Inn in Manchester city centre.

Good luck to Russells trying to clean that site up.

Mobile crane on site today and its 150% better in terms of of hoardings, site cabins, safety and visual impact. This is well underway even if it takes a while to be cleaned up. Move to construction section?

PW.

Together, developers and agents can pave the road to recovery

We have 23 locations across the region on our target town list and plans to add 1,500 bedrooms over the next four years. I believe there is scope to revise this target upwards and I am proud that Premier Inn is one of the catalysts for growth.

To really kickstart the recovery, developers and occupiers need to work together and do things differently. Now that we are at the bottom of the next development cycle, this phase will be driven by occupiers. Banks simply will not fund speculative development for the foreseeable future.

It is time to go back to basics. For me, that means developers and agents understanding what occupiers want and all parties working together. Doing a deal with a self-funded owner-occupier is certainly one attractive option.

Land earmarked for office or residential space can, in our experience, be put to alternative and profitable use. Across the north-west, Premier Inn has worked with developers to convert housing planning permissions into leisure permissions and transforming empty offices into hotels.

Our recent deal in Manchester with Property Alliance Group illustrates this approach. The bank had financed a housing developer to build a 20-storey residential apartment block.

Shortly after starting work on site, the developer went into administration and the bank was faced with a substantial write-off. Property Alliance Group approached the bank and convinced the planners to agree to a change of use.

I agreed to a Whitbread-backed, 25-year institutional lease for a 193-room, 11-storey Premier Inn. Property Alliance Group also arranged forward-funding with the British Steel Pension Scheme. Our typical investment-grade leases offer yields of less than 6% in the north-west, a highly competitive rate.

This shows what can be done when developers and occupiers think laterally about the funding challenge. I believe there are many more untapped opportunities out there. If you have housing land or vacant office space, don’t sit on it – find someone who might be able to do something with it.

John Bates is head of acquisitions in UK and Ireland for Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants

http://i51.tinypic.com/okpyxs.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/4snnf8.jpg

I was down there the other day .. much of the dodgy steel work that Mr Issa put in has now been removed.
The site is a million miles from where it was previously.

Crane was going up today.

I wonder if it will sway like the last one :D

Tower section of White Crane now in place. No arm yet.

http://www.propertyweek.com/pictures/800x400fitpad[150]/1/9/0/1685190_Premier%20Inn%20Manchester.JPG

^^Thanks for the reminder.

Starting to rise...

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/100_1158.jpg

This was just a case of sticking my arm through the gate and aiming in the general direction of the core. Turned out ok

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/100_1159.jpg

Russells will knock this up in no time. They are damned good contractors. They never mess about.

Russells will knock this up in no time. They are damned good contractors. They never mess about.

...unless it's Axis! :lol:

i believe this is precast from the 1st floor up so will fly up

...unless it's Axis! :lol:

I'm sure they're just waiting for the nod. Just like we are. But yes.

I'm sure they're just waiting for the nod. Just like we are. But yes.

You're right though, look how quick they've knocked Morrisons and Travelodge up in SQ!

More please! :)

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7742/manchester11thjuly20110.jpg

Today

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/100_1251.jpg?t=1311422847

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/100_1253.jpg?t=1311422864

Premier Inn today

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/100_1317.jpg

The hotel arrived on the back of a truck on Tuesday afternoon. Should be ready for taking bookings next Monday:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mPd9nDWPnnE/TmZ0k6cIJRI/AAAAAAAAAiU/BR8GG2hT43U/s800/IMAG0863.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Vlxm9Kvcek4/TmZ0oXUgoZI/AAAAAAAAAiY/kBiuTixqYPY/s512/IMAG0865.jpg

Mental.

Flatpack modular walls for this, bricks stuck on with glue at the Oast house - is this what construction has become! :lol:

The hotel arrived on the back of truck on Tuesday afternoon:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mPd9nDWPnnE/TmZ0k6cIJRI/AAAAAAAAAiU/BR8GG2hT43U/s800/IMAG0863.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Vlxm9Kvcek4/TmZ0oXUgoZI/AAAAAAAAAiY/kBiuTixqYPY/s512/IMAG0865.jpg

Mental.

Ah thats what they were...saw them on the Motorway the other day...:nuts::nuts:

Stephenson Bells signature flat pack designs.

Stephenson Bells signature flat pack designs.

Never seen it before. Are they actual bricks stuck together with mortar, or just concrete formed into shape and painted?

Never seen it before. Are they actual bricks stuck together with mortar, or just concrete formed into shape and painted?

It's how they built the new Chethams, the other SB designed building. Actual bricks, very heavy panelling, formed by machine.

I prefer the old ways...

http://www.constructionphotography.com/ImageThumbs/A062-00061/3/A062-00061_Female_bricklayer.jpg

Today

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/4194/manchester9thseptember2.jpg

^guess that cut-out really isn't happening then. Cost cutting = Shite design. I'm going to ban myself from this thread.
http://www.stephenson-bell.com/images/portfolio/premier-inn/premier-inn-2.jpg

Ha, I don't think there was ever a 'cut out' I believe it's just a shadow from the opposite building! :bash: :lol:

fuuuuuu

Oh well, still got value engineered.
http://www.propertyweek.com/pictures/800x400fitpad[150]/1/9/0/1685190_Premier%20Inn%20Manchester.JPG

That low level opening on the canal side elevation is there in the original render, but not in the second, so who knows which is right. Doesn't look to have been any revisions to the plans looking at the docs. Not a lot of difference between them really.

It's got a slant on the other side, in a nod to the height of Piccadilly Lofts, that's about it on the non-vertical front.

http://i52.tinypic.com/2qsv343.jpg

http://arcmediauk.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/premierinn_01.jpg

Image from:
http://arcmediauk.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/premier-inn-manchester-site-progress

Bird conservation project for Piccadilly hotel

7 Oct 2011, 14:45

DEP Landscape Architecture has been appointed by Property Alliance Group to create a habitat for a breeding population of rare black redstarts as part of the new Premier Inn Hotel development in Piccadilly, Manchester.

The landscaped site will contain crushed brick, rubble and stone in varying heights, a sedum turfed area, with planting including herbaceous perennials and wetland planting at the edge of the canal. It is intended to create the ideal foraging habitat for the small but important breeding population of black redstarts which are found in the Piccadilly Basin area.

The black redstart population is already in decline due to the large scale redevelopment of Manchester city centre which has caused the loss of brownfield sites for feeding the birds as well as suitable built structures for nesting. In line with the Greater Manchester Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), DEP's proposed landscaping scheme adjacent to the hotel is designed to create the ideal habitat for the colonisation of invertebrates and insects - replicating the habitats on which the black redstarts typically forage.

Chris Podmore, DEP's managing director, said: "It's good to be part of the ongoing commercial redevelopment of our home city but even better to be able offer long term ecological benefits to the scheme. Wherever possible we try to promote sustainability and wildlife biodiversity within our landscaping projects and this latest Premier Inn hotel contract typifies that approach."

The new £10m, 193-bedroom hotel, Premier Inn's fourth in Manchester city centre, is being built by Russells Construction on behalf of developer Property Alliance Group. The hotel on the corner of Dale Street and Lena Street, close to Piccadilly railway station, it is expected to be open by late 2012.

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/10231-bird-conservation-project-for-piccadilly-hotel.html

Yesterday.

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/8458/manchester20thoctober20.jpg

You're right though, look how quick they've knocked Morrisons and Travelodge up in SQ!

More please! :)

Russells are not building the Travelodge, that part (and that part only) is being built by Anglo Holt, everything else though is Russells... both open in 4 weeks too. yay! :)

Wow

Yes.

do not like.

Russells are not building the Travelodge, that part (and that part only) is being built by Anglo Holt, everything else though is Russells... both open in 4 weeks too. yay! :)

You're right though, look how quick they've knocked Morrisons and Travelodge up in SQ!

More please! :)

In reality this project is being built in Ordsall, and has (quite rightly) been covered on that thread.

View from 111 Piccadilly (13th Floor) of the Dale Street Premier Inn. Bathroom in a box anyone?


http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7684/15112011.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/15/15112011.jpg/)

Great pic!

do not like.

l’deteste

:lol: @ bathroom in a box

I'm guessing the 'bathroom in a box' :lol: is a prefab - complete with all fixture and fittings

I’m usually the one to tell people to ‘wait til its finished’ before making a judgement. Well i’m saying now that this will become one of those buildings, like the Premier Inn in Hulme, that people will counting the years hoping gets pulled down. There’s no style to it whatsoever. Its a bland, prefab toilet.

as poor as this is, i still think its a whole lot better than ISSA quay next door. How many different claddings does that building need? at least this is consistantly clad....

I can’t remember who I was having a debate with over this but all i can say is, I’m winning :)

I'm guessing the 'bathroom in a box' :lol: is a prefab - complete with all fixture and fittings

itspretty common in new build hotels nowadays. the bathrooms are pre-fabbed at the factory then dropped in by crane in situ. the crowne plaza was built the same way.

I can’t remember who I was having a debate with over this but all i can say is, I’m winning :)

I think it was me, but we pretty much agreed we'd end up drooling over the Co-op NoMa HQ however this turned out :lol:

I think it was me, but we pretty much agreed we'd end up drooling over the Co-op NoMa HQ however this turned out :lol:

Yes thats right, and I am.

Better than a car park...

Pikey caravans are better than a carpark.

View from 111 Piccadilly (13th Floor) of the Dale Street Premier Inn. Bathroom in a box anyone?


http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7684/15112011.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/15/15112011.jpg/)


Great pic that. I'd take a better camera into work and take another.

I've stayed in hotels with the prefab bathrooms and they're absolutely fine. You have to step into them and they look a bit incongruous but it's a good idea and a good way of keeping the costs down.

Better than a car park...

If a turd was laid in a car park, does that turd take the said car park to the next level?

^^ This is some way from being a turd. It's of reasonable scale, in keeping with the surrounding buildings, enhances the street-scape and the surface car park contributed nothing really. Whilst it might not be a gem, it at least keeps clean lines and neutral colours.

The hotel I stayed in London had one, I assume the ones in the Premier Inn will be a bit bigger than this though on the basis that Dale Street is not SW1!

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/amazingtrade/P1060542.jpg

^^ This is some way from being a turd. It's of reasonable scale, in keeping with the surrounding buildings, enhances the street-scape and the surface car park contributed nothing really. Whilst it might not be a gem, it at least keeps clean lines and neutral colours.

How is this building anything like the other buildings on Dale Street? Do you mean that toilet on the corner?

A wheelie bin in many ways can enhance a street scape, but look at Piccadilly Lofts next to it, or Millington just further down. Thats the street scape my good man, this on the other hand is destined to be a blot, demolition ball fodder come 2025.

It has clean lines? So do Candy washing machines, whats your point, and as for neutral colours, you make it sound like a buy to let flat.

Nah, in closing, this is proper cack, belongs in some 1970s regeneration scheme for greeting tourists at Blackpool North

At least it is a back street. I agree though that the hotel does seem to be done on the cheap and is a very bland but none offensive building.

I think it quite disingenuous to try to justify this piece of bad architecture because of its proximity to say, Issa Quay or Rodwell Tower- hardly MCC Planning Department’s finest hours.


Aside of those two anomalies, Dale street has some of the most important heritage architecture in Manchester. This is just another example of a lack of rigour by MCC in defending the historical buildings of Manchester from dull architects such as Stephenson Bell, who’s contemptuous juxtaposing of their mediocrity next to important Listed Buildings (see also: Chetham's School of Music) appears to have become habit forming.


Is this better than a car park? No. At least with the car park you could still view the splendid old Rosetti Hotel (Abode) and the Piccadilly Lofts Warehouse. More car parks please if this is the best solution imaginable for this generation of architects.


Let’s hope if they film the sequel to Captain America in this area again that this building gets loaded with pyrotechnics for a spectacular finale!

:)^^

I’m not going off just the photos here. I’m going off real exposure to this ugly monster as I walk down back Piccadilly approach nightly. You could once see most of Dale Street for all its glory, and now you see this building with one tremendous bare-arsed black/charcoal wall on the right, and a wall with the tiniest looking windows to the left. And there is quite literally nothing else to say about it. Could this be the most boring new building to be built in Manchester in the last 15 years? Even random cladding has slightly more going for it. I also think if I had a choice between this and Hatters hostel down the road, I’d choose Hatters.

This has shat up incredibly quickly. Must be diarrhoea...

^^ For those of you who would rather have a surface car park, then that's your choice and opinion. For those of you who would rather wait for an iconic building, then I would guess you would still be waiting for another 30 years, which is not a choice that I would make.

This is not a great building, but is within keeping of the scale of the surrounding buildings and re-establishes the street pattern and that for me is better than a surface car park, or another empty lot. Goodness knows there are enough of these:

Take the large car park on Aytoun St, or if you're looking for real horros=rs, I would nominate ILVA, with a more prominent Gt Ancoat's Street fascia, as well as IMO making a mockery of the 'Piccadilly Marina/Basin' canal-side location. This said, it is clearly not easy to get pre-lets around here as nothing has happened at Piccadilly Basin for some time.

Try my best to reserve judgement on most things till the scaffolding comes down (jury still out on Chets btw) but this presents a rare exception as I had the chance to have a proper look at it a week or so ago.

It's a turd of a building.

No excuse for this kind of laziness (oh it'll be ok - anything is better than what's there already - school of architecture). It's the worst kind of 1970s 'fuck it - it'll do' quality of finish too. It makes Bassar look like an inspired genius with his Sarah Tower proposal.

Ok it's a budget hotel but look at what's possible elsewhere in the city centre and in other cities, nothing special but 100% better than this.
If you were a visitor to Manchester and ended up staying here, would you ever be inspired to come back? What the hell was the planning dept thinking of?
SSC 2025 forumers will be screaming for this to be flattened.

Right, I'll back off - rant over.

Have you not seen that hotel tower that looms over some lovely Victorian clock tower building in Leeds, I'd rather have mediocrity like this on a street that's already tarnished and keep decent architecture to genuine heritage areas like st peters square, kings street and st anne's square.
Not to trumpet the horns of these architects but I do think they try to make the best of the resources at their disposal and a budget hotel is always gonna be shit in the current market conditions.

...a budget hotel is always gonna be shit in the current market conditions.

Well that's not true. We got this only a few blocks away

http://i51.tinypic.com/muzsyr.jpg

And dont forget the one in Bury(?) with the orange boxes around the windows. There's a photo on here somewhere...

Well that's not true. We got this only a few blocks away

http://i51.tinypic.com/muzsyr.jpg

Yes, it’s actually better quality than some of the non-budget hotels around, not necessarity in Manchester, but elsewhere in the UK.

Not the worst building I've ever seen...

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/DSC00155.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/DSC00156.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/DSC00157.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/DSC00158.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/DSC00159.jpg

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Cityplanner/DSC00161.jpg

Good photos SlowBurn, I wouldn't say I really like it but I think a lot of the recent criticism has been a bit harsh.

Looks like this has topped out:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/IMAG0389.jpg

Fits in nicely.

...to that photo maybe. But have you actually seen it on Dale Street up close? The side elevation towards Picc looks grim, and the back even worse. The only interesting part is the slice in the side but who sees that. Who walks down there other than brave GShutty?

I swear standards and expectations are declining on here. You are allowed to say things look shite you know.

I live next door to this monster, it doesnt affect my aspect but i feel sorry for all the apts that face it. its such a narrow side street and blocks all light.
At first I thought anything is better than the hole that basha left. At least I cant see the doggin happening under the canal anymore.
It may bring more foot fall onto dale street and liven things up abit.
The sides and back of the tower are virtually all black brick and no windows, its shocking, ive never seen anything so ugly.
As for the toilets post above, I watched them load complete toilet cubes from the back of a truck directly into place inside each hotel squat. everything is pre fab. not a single brick has been laid. The walls get delivered with windows insitu and plastic brick tiles in place. thats why its been built so fast.
I will save total judgement until its completed, then compare and see if its worse than the other one on oxford road.
Dale street has some beautiful buildings, its a shame. I would like MCC to spend some money on the public realm, the pavements and road are in bad shape.
They collects millions from the apts on dale street in council tax and spend nothing.

^^The only investment on Dale St in the last 20-30 years has been from Universal Studios who paid for that warehouse building on the corner to be tidied up and new lamposts from the council.

The side street that runs adjacent to dale st now looks dark like a rapists paradise. The sun is now blocked if you sit on the benches on the canal opposite the car park. Very ugly and oppressive building considering its floor count.

It looks terrible! I do not understand how these budget hotel companies are given permission to build so many awful, ugly buildings!

Travelodge have managed to build an even uglier one next to Strangeways, why was that allowed? And Holiday Inn on oxford road is equally as bad.....

It is ruining our city :(!

Not a universal favourite, but I do like the grey brick as a building medium:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/IMAG0622.jpg

Signage going up today...

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/neil081273/d0ec1c25.jpg

Agree it looks terrible, and completely out of place. One (small) point though - the piccadilly facing side would presumably be facing straight onto the building site next door. Assuming that gets going again at some point, it might explain the lack of any redeeming features / styling on that side of the building.

It looks like it's got terrible acne.

This location must be regarded as good seeing that it is just around the corner from the 5th busiest railway station in the UK. Is this really the best we could get in this location? I am amazed this got permission.

I thought the speckled effect was a case of the bricks drying out. I guess not.

Bump.

http://www.capitasymonds.co.uk/news__events/latest_news/dale_street_premier_inn_topped.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CapitaSymondsNews+%28Capita+Symonds+News%29

Manchester's latest hotel development - the 193-bedroom Dale Street Premier Inn - has been officially ‘topped out’.

Capita Symonds’ Cheadle Hulme office is providing structural engineering services on the £10m scheme which will open in this summer.

With the roof now on, the internal fit out continues and the 12-storey hotel is set to be handed over in the summer. The hotel also includes a Thyme Restaurant and five meeting rooms, and will create approximately 50 new jobs on opening.

Representatives from Premier Inn, the British Steel Pension Fund (which forward funded the scheme), developer Property Alliance Group, Capita Symonds’ Structures team, Architect Roger Stephenson Architects and other consultants were given a tour of the construction site and a sneak preview of a sample room by the contractor, Russells Construction.

An innovative sandwich panel construction technique was used to build the shell of the hotel and has all 11 upper floors to be constructed at a rate of one every ten days. The system, which sees structural concrete panels installed complete with insulation, windows and the brickwork skin, has been hailed for its speed, improved safety and aesthetic finish.

Located at the corner of Dale Street and Lena Street, the striking tower is finished in a blue / black engineering-style brick, emulating the appearance of the nearby railway arches on the approach to Piccadilly Station. The Dale Street hotel will be Premier Inn's fourth in Manchester city centre, and is within easy walking distance of central shops, restaurants and Manchester Piccadilly Station.

Gareth Russell, managing director of Russells Construction, said: "This is an 18-month project but, unlike with a traditional build, we are able to celebrate the completion of the entire external structure after just a year thanks to the use of this innovative panel construction system. The traditional 'topping out' ceremony is usually held once the roof is on and gives us the opportunity to thank the whole team for their work so far and demonstrate to our clients - Premier Inn, the British Steel Pension Fund and Property Alliance Group - how the project is progressing. We're pleased with the rate of construction and the internal fit out is on track for handover of the building later this year."

Richard Aldread, senior project and programme manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: "Premier Inn is expanding across the UK on the back of strong demand and our customer's desire to see more Premier Inn hotels around the country. We currently have more than 47,000 bedrooms in the UK and our target is to achieve 65,000 bedrooms by 2016. That is an ambitious goal, but it is one we are confident we can hit as we take advantage of the strong Whitbread balance sheet and our experience in delivering the best locations for our customers.

"The new Dale Street Premier Inn is a great example as it is right in the heart of Manchester city centre, with excellent access to Piccadilly train station, and is exactly where our customers want us to be. It is a stunning looking hotel in a prime location and we look forward to finishing the build, creating jobs, and helping to support the local Manchester economy when we open our doors later this year."

<<developer Property Alliance Group, Capita Symonds’ Structures team, Architect Roger Stephenson Architects>>>

The guilty ones have been named and shamed.:bash:


<<the striking tower is finished in a blue / black engineering-style brick, emulating the appearance of the nearby railway arches on the approach to Piccadilly Station. >>>

What a load of architect fueled B/S :ohno:

With 18,000 more rooms, I guess that means another awful looking hotel or hotel somewhere around the City Centre over the next few years. Wouldn't be surprised if another popped up around the airport.

Ferkinell. What a difference between the promise and the outcome. This is Grim with a capital G. It's like something from Brazil. And by that I mean the movie.

This?

http://www.stephenson-bell.com/portfolio/premier-inn.html#main

http://www.stephenson-bell.com/images/portfolio/premier-inn/premier-inn-2.jpg

A premier inn. I pass it every day to work...I feel for the people in the Victorian conversion next door....suprised it got planning permission really. Looks like the 60's & 70's buildings weve been pulling down for the last 20 years! Up close it looks cheap....very cheap!

The black PVC window frames really add to the quality element of the brick facade. Maybe it will look better with developments on Piccadilly Basin carpark?

Its easily the poorest development on the whole stretch of Dale Street, and its a long street.

Its won a couple of awards apparently, I had read last night though conveniently the news item appears to be lost in the sands of time! Will it age well? Probably not but it looks a hell of alot better than that white carbuncle Travel Lodge down on the Old Boddies site, Urgh.

walked around it the other day, hoping to find something of merit, as I like the one on Oxford Road.

It was hard work but the slopey bit on the Dale Street side and the way it joins the elevation pointing at Back Piccadilly is nice. You have to be looking up to see it though! The signage also distracts from the acres of bricks, thus reducing some of the monotony. Might look better when the blank slots are filled or at least it won't draw attention to itself.

The signage also distracts from the acres of bricks, thus reducing some of the monotony.

Nice try at finding something of merit BUT seriously if the best that can be said about this building is that it is improved by having a Premier Inn sign stuck on the side, I think enough said.

Its won a couple of awards apparently

If it has won any awards, it will one of those meaningless ones from fellow architects who value the dreadful bombast of juxtaposing this rubbish amid some of the finest buildings in the city; removing any notion that subsequent designs should retain a respectful deference or create unity with the better, Grade II Listed buildings around Dale St.

NB. Similar strategy employed on the Smithfield Quarter by MUSE, starting with the quality Smithfield Market Building, gradually adding weaker and weaker architecture to the point where one ends up with the pile of landfill-reclaim (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=93038674#post93038674) they are now proposing that destroys the character that made it an interesting area in the first place.

Its won a couple of awards apparentlySo did Beetham Tower...

Looking better with an all dark grey palette:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x284/gshutty/IMAG0990.jpg

I admire your positivity Gshutty but c'mon this is one of the worst new builds in Manchester and has ruined the flow of Dale St. Putting 'grey' panels over the last bits of bare concrete won't change that.
Looks like a soot blackened flour mill.

The guy in your photo can't even bear to look at it.

Oh don't be so melodramatic. This hasn't ruined anything. It's a mid-rise inconsequential building on a relatively quiet street. Buildings such as this are found in every city all over the world

It's up to you.

A big fuck off mud hole with a steel frame in it. Or a building/hotel.

Given what was there before, I'll take this building any day of the week.

I know it shouldn't make a difference, but not once have I seen a piture of this building on a nice day, when the light is much better.

at least it doesn't look like this

http://herne-bay.kent-towns.co.uk/images/directory/10033-1.jpg

It is not alone. (it just needs a moat)

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/pictures/636x441fitpad[237]/6/7/3/1731673_Hepworth-Wakfield_Chipperfield-c-Iwan-Baan_-web.jpg

Hepworth, Wakefield gallery. Sterling Prize favourite.

http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/pictures/384xAny/1/6/9/1296169_Sub1.jpg

Primary Substation for 2012 Olympics by NORD Architecture

I know it shouldn't make a difference, but not once have I seen a piture of this building on a nice day, when the light is much better.

So we wait for the one sunny week we get in Manchester to be less offended by this horror?

NB. The Hepworth Gallery is a wonderful counterpoint to the red brick mills complex it positions itself next to, but it is the motion of the river and most obviously the amazing Weeping Willow trees alongside that softens the brutality of this style of architecture.

I can’t comment of the Primary Substation as I haven't seen it in context but I bet it isn’t situated within a supposed "Heritage Zone."

This hasn't ruined anything. It's a mid-rise inconsequential building on a relatively quiet street.

The Premier Inn still has a destructive visual presence from the Piccadilly side and it has most certainly ruined the vista of the Rossetti/Abode Hotel and the other Listed Buildings it sits amid.

If Dale St is a quiet street it is because the poor and cynical planning that accedes to this kind of cheap rubbish has failed to imagine it as link-way into the city. This street contains some of the finest (but ultimately neglected) buildings in the city that should be converted into a fabulous traffic-neutered neighbourhood with the best buildings converted into top end hotels, handy for Piccadilly Station and making a unique entrance into Manchester.

Let’s leave these cheap hotels on the periphery of the city where they belong, helping raise the land values of the Northern Quarter, encouraging the regeneration of this fabulous "lost" area that the supposed boom-years development rarely tackled.

In short it's an abomination that should never have got built.

So we wait for the one sunny week we get in Manchester to be less offended by this horror?

NB. The Hepworth Gallery is a wonderful counterpoint to the red brick mills complex it positions itself next to, but it is the motion of the river and most obviously the amazing Weeping Willow trees alongside that softens the brutality of this style of architecture.

I can’t comment of the Primary Substation as I haven't seen it in context but I bet it isn’t situated within a supposed "Heritage Zone."



The Premier Inn still has a destructive visual presence from the Piccadilly side and it has most certainly ruined the vista of the Rossetti/Abode Hotel and the other Listed Buildings it sits amid.

If Dale St is a quiet street it is because the poor and cynical planning that accedes to this kind of cheap rubbish has failed to imagine it as link-way into the city. This street contains some of the finest (but ultimately neglected) buildings in the city that should be converted into a fabulous traffic-neutered neighbourhood with the best buildings converted into top end hotels, handy for Piccadilly Station and making a unique entrance into Manchester.

Let’s leave these cheap hotels on the periphery of the city where they belong, helping raise the land values of the Northern Quarter, encouraging the regeneration of this fabulous "lost" area that the supposed boom-years development rarely tackled.

Oh Gowd, stop picking on me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Where did I put my glass eye?

Everything looks better on a sunny day, nevermind on a sunny week.(if only God's own City got 7 days of continual sunshine)

If you don't like it fair enough, but it's not my style to lecture you.

I like. You don't. End of.

Brutal. Moat. Now where can I plant that tree to soften that......(go for it Mr Ripple!)

In short it's an abomination that should never have got built.

Enough said.

Everybody is allowed an opinion.

Indeed they are jrb

Oh Gowd, stop picking on me.

Have a different opinion, fine, but to me forums such as SCC are; a chance to share and elaborate on ideas and theory so that the failings of modern architecture might be challenged in a way that they evidently aren’t being done in the universities or beige discussion rooms of practicing modern architects. Granted it’ll make no difference to the corrupt process that builds this tat in the first place.

Saying “I like, you don’t” is hardly Confucianism.

As with many of my posts, I questioned the appropriate nature of this building when referenced against MCC’s “Heritage Status” of the area. Citing quality, stand-alone buildings as justification for the aesthetics of this building in relation to the rest of the street is to my mind worthy of asking you to defend your point.

There has been a movement to introduce this grey slate brick into the city (led by the likes of Stephenson Bell) that only exacerbates the darkness on rainy days that I don’t find appealing (I agree it can look good elsewhere). Whilst the use of red brick in Manchester was born out of function (not attracting the dirt and smog, etc) it does add certain warmth that this grey brick never can, as witnessed in the adjacent Rossetti Hotel.

More trees, as discussed infinitum, in Manchester would indeed help!

The weak short-termism of this kind of development won’t realise Manchester as the progressive modern city it should be and hasn’t done so since the 1960’s; I would reckon this is not merely a "subjective" opinion of many outside the entrenched architect’s profession.

Have a different opinion, fine, but to me forums such as SCC are; a chance to share and elaborate on ideas and theory so that the failings of modern architecture might be challenged in a way that they evidently aren’t being done in the universities or beige discussion rooms of practicing modern architects. Granted it’ll make no difference to the corrupt process that builds this tat in the first place.

Saying “I like, you don’t” is hardly Confucianism.

As with many of my posts, I questioned the appropriate nature of this building when referenced against MCC’s “Heritage Status” of the area. Citing quality, stand-alone buildings as justification for the aesthetics of this building in relation to the rest of the street is to my mind worthy of asking you to defend your point.

There has been a movement to introduce this grey slate brick into the city (led by the likes of Stephenson Bell) that only exacerbates the darkness on rainy days that I don’t find appealing (I agree it can look good elsewhere). Whilst the use of red brick in Manchester was born out of function (not attracting the dirt and smog, etc) it does add certain warmth that this grey brick never can, as witnessed in the adjacent Rossetti Hotel.

More trees, as discussed infinitum, in Manchester would indeed help!

The weak short-termism of this kind of development won’t realise Manchester as the progressive modern city it should be and hasn’t done so since the 1960’s; I would reckon this is not merely a "subjective" opinion of many outside the entrenched architect’s profession.

Indeed you do Mr Ripple. And fair play to you Sir. If only I could be as expressive, genuine, forthright, clear, concise, and honest as you. I can't. So I won't try. Sorry.

It's there in my head, but when it reaches my finger tips and the keys on the keyboard, it turns into waffle status.

What I'm trying to say is......(oh Gowd this is going to be embarrassing)

I just like clean lines, plain colours, regardless of shade or tone, and...., sorry Hal did you say something? That's it! Monolith/ic architecture.(regardless of size or shape)

http://neofilm.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/2001.jpg

PS. I'm off the week after next, so I promise to get some pictures of it on a sunny day. Fingers crossed.

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/4366/manchester4thseptember2.jpg

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4366/manchester4thseptember2.jpg

It's not that bad.

It's dreadful, the only good thing about this building is the extra foot fall it will bring to that end of Dale St.

http://www.aperfectworld.org/clipart/industry/wreckingball02.gif

It's not that bad.

I agree and once something else has been built next to it and 111 Piccadilly of similar height it will be an ok small mass of buildings.

Nah, sorry vile, just vile. The guilty ones must be punished.
TBF, that's quite a flattering photo.

Get down and see it in the flesh on a cloudy day.
Don't forget to take the anti-depressants, there's a Nero nearby to wash them down with.

Where is this? Im trying to get my bearings. Next to Ancoats retail park or the Umbro studio? Its quite the despicable mark. Poor form from the council passing this on a once fantastic street.

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/4366/manchester4thseptember2.jpg

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4366/manchester4thseptember2.jpg

In Amsterdam and Rotterdam that would look........ :)

Where is this? Im trying to get my bearings. Next to Ancoats retail park or the Umbro studio? Its quite the despicable mark. Poor form from the council passing this on a once fantastic street.

Come down the slope from Piccadilly Stn. At the bottom you'll see 111 Piccadilly shining all white and pretty in front of you. Glance to your right and there it is, sulking like a naughty child next to its more elegant and confident neighbour, all dark and broody like a Gordon Brown monument in concrete and stick-on fake brick form.:bash:

Come down the slope from Piccadilly Stn. At the bottom you'll see 111 Piccadilly shining all white and pretty in front of you. Glance to your right and there it is, sulking like a naughty child next to its more elegant and confident neighbour, all dark and broody like a Gordon Brown monument in concrete and stick-on fake brick form.:bash:

A subtle contrast then.

Where is this? Im trying to get my bearings. Next to Ancoats retail park or the Umbro studio? Its quite the despicable mark. Poor form from the council passing this on a once fantastic street. Near Piccadilly Station at the green arrow:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lD04CFMF-bo/UEaYAkHWtPI/AAAAAAAAA_g/g1y7JacAgKc/s800/premier_piccadilly.jpg

Absolutely revolting.... the architect(s) who designed this should lose their right to design buildings.

Clearly not fit to practice if you design something as ghastly as this. If a doctor kills a patient, he is sacked and is banned from being a doctor.

I like it shame their branding is so incredibly shit.

10 years and it'll be back to what it was, a hole in the ground filled with water

10 years and it'll be back to what it was, a hole in the ground filled with water

No it won't. It'll be an ugly cheap hotel.

No it won't. It'll be an ugly cheap hotel.

:lol:

The more I look at this the worse it gets, its an abomination.

Opens 8th October according to PI's booking form.

I've been a long time lurker on SSC and today I've had to register on here to say that this is surely a candidate for the most disgusting building to go up in Central Manchester in recent years. Stephenson Bell and Russells should hang their heads in shame at this! What the hell are the strange cut-out sections on the building?

I have to walk past this building every morning on the way to work and I genuinely find it more offensive to look at than the hole that was there before. I just wish they'd have filled in the hole and just grassed over it until someone came up with a worthy design that could anchor the end of such a great street.

The building actually looks worse when you see it in the flesh than it does in any photos posted.

Feel better after getting that off my chest.

I've been a long time lurker on SSC and today I've had to register on here to say that this is surely a candidate for the most disgusting building to go up in Central Manchester in recent years. Stephenson Bell and Russells should hang their heads in shame at this! What the hell are the strange cut-out sections on the building?I guess they're thinking something will eventually be built on the car park next to it, so they killed the windows...

I've been a long time lurker on SSC and today I've had to register on here to say that this is surely a candidate for the most disgusting building to go up in Central Manchester in recent years. Stephenson Bell and Russells should hang their heads in shame at this! What the hell are the strange cut-out sections on the building?

I have to walk past this building every morning on the way to work and I genuinely find it more offensive to look at than the hole that was there before. I just wish they'd have filled in the hole and just grassed over it until someone came up with a worthy design that could anchor the end of such a great street.

The building actually looks worse when you see it in the flesh than it does in any photos posted.

Feel better after getting that off my chest. Welcome to the forum. Well I'm actually shocked that Stephenson Bell, a Mancunian based architect proposed this. It looks like something from a London architect who has designed the building as a joke. It is a monstrosity.

The only silver lining is that it is out of sight somewhat from Piccadilly approach where millions of people walk to and from Picc station every year.

The view from the top - Russels crew

http://russellsconstruction.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/260312premierinn-2-mid-res.jpg




.

Hang your heads in shame guys

I might be alone on here but I actually quite like it, sorry!

Looked smart inside when I walked past earlier, and come on, one of Bashir Issa's expensive holes in the ground has finally bit the dust. I would have preferred the old model though with the corner cut out, but oh well... Good view from the roof.

I like the fact that there is no f**king about. It's a huge black block. Neo-brutal.

I don't think it's brutal enough to be considered 'brutal', it is bleak though, very. It's just really bad design if you ask me, there is not one redeeming feature to save it, it may be nice inside and I'm sure it is but on the outside which is what most people will see it's so teeth grindingly ugly, bland and out of sync with the rest of Dale St. Shocking.

That is a great view from the roof though.

'Sotto voce' I quite like it.

There are a few problems, but that is to do with the slope on one side and the large cut out in the brick, near the base. I think it should have been more symmetrical.

But I like the near black brick and long slits for windows I torn about whether I'd prefer it as near black brick oblong or if more could have been done to make it more forboding more gothic.

I would quite like it if it lived up to expectations. See the elevations posted here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=64305761&postcount=16) by CDX. I said to myself What's not to like? However the brickwork is patchy and dour and grey, and it makes a huge difference. Now I gasp, and say What were they thinking?

I had a bit of time to spare waiting for a train so walked out the side of Piccadilly to have a gander. Looking at the Premier Inn (which I don't mind, although wouldn't write home about it either) I couldn't help but notice I couldn't focus on the building. My eyes were pulled all over the place with its jenga-esque layout from this far away flat perspective.

The Place present is static you sort of see it as a whole, Gateway House and Picadilly 101 (I think that is what it is called) lead you along in the case of the former or up in the case of the latter. But with Premier Inn, your eyes dart all over the place.

Not sure if this is good or bad, was meant or not, or is just me going mad. Here are some photos that might get at what I mean.

http://i49.tinypic.com/xu0pg.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/2whgphu.jpg

what Bashar Issa did next

Daily Mail

Loose Women star Andrea McLean in raunchy film trailer for production which was really a £1m tax scam (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292701/Tax-fraud-gang-claimed-making-20m-gangster-movie-persuaded-Andrea-McLean-star-budget-version-investigators-suspicious.html)