Empty Cambridge Building to Become Hotel after Five Years Vacant

Cambridge is a lively place. Locals and tourists jam the streets daily. Chesterton and Cherry Hinton have many shops and restaurants like Restaurant Twenty-Two. Stir, a bakery, is very popular too.

Some Cambridge buildings sit empty and you might miss them easily. The old Office Outlet is on Chesterton Road. It’s been boarded up about five years, as Google Street View images confirm.

This building is at Mitcham’s Corner, facing The Tivoli pub directly. The Portland Arms music venue is nearby as well. Plans arose in November 2023, and the council received them. They involve demolishing the building to build a hotel.

Pan Albion LLP is the developer and they want a 134-room aparthotel. The hotel would have a ground-floor shop, a gym, and an internal courtyard for guests. Stays would last up to 90 days.

The council approved the hotel plans in July 2024. Councillor Naomi Bennett worried about parking. The developer must start by 2027.

Shops and HMOs faced approval earlier. The plan involved nineteen houses, but costs made the plan unworkable. Construction expenses rose significantly.