Irish hospitality group Press Up has teamed with sister company Oakmount - a property development company also based in Ireland - to bring a new addition to the Birmingham hospitality landscape. Alongside TODD Architects and O’Donnell O’Neill Interior Architecture and Design Studio, the group has been granted permission by Birmingham City Council to transform the Grade II* Listed Central Methodist Hall into a new branch of The Dean hospitality complex, creating over 400 full and part time positions for the local hospitality sector in Birmingham.
The Dean Birmingham is a 150-bedroom hotel development that will feature eight new bars and restaurants at ground and basement levels, with additional gym and events space. The plans also include the restoration of the Central Hall, which will become a 1500+ capacity events space.
This will be the first location for The Dean outside of Ireland, where The Dean currently has three locations in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Parent company McKillen Corporation, directed by Patrick McKillen Junior, encompasses a number of high end leisure and hospitality businesses across Ireland, the UK and across the world, with popular venues including The Dean, Stella Cinema, Glassin Lakehouse and The Mayson.
The Central Methodist Hall, completed in 1904, is an iconic landmark in Birmingham City Centre. The site was originally run by The Methodist Church until 1991 but has since had a rather different purpose as a major live music destination with stars such as David Bowie, Daft Punk and Blur performing at the venue. Vacant since 2017, the building has fallen into disrepair and features on the Heritage England’s At Risk Register so it is welcome news to see the refurbishment of such a well-loved site.
Fancy reading some more venue news? The team behind Printworks have a new venue opening this autumn - a multi-use venue covering a huge 55,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.