Project update: New homes being created as empty hotels are transformed

The Malibu and Astoria Hotels are being transformed into 20 one, two and three bedroom apartments.
Each hotel, which previously had 60 bedrooms between them, is being converted into 10 self-contained permanent flats.
Work includes the removal of roof lifts which will be replaced with dormer windows and the demolition of rear extensions to provide outdoor space.

Both hotels had troubled pasts and had closed down.
The Malibu had become a magnet for unruly stag and hen parties, while the Astoria was badly damaged by fire in 2013, and never recovered. from the damage which was caused.

The properties have been bought by the Blackpool Housing Company, set up by the council to tackle poor accommodation in the resort and funded through a multi-million pound government grant.
It is one of a number of similar schemes being carried out at the moment in the resort.
The aim is to buy up failing guesthouses and convert them to good quality accommodation in order to break the cycle of former B&Bs being turned into cheap bedsits.

The first apartments at Albert Road are expected to be completed by the beginning of 2018.
The next milestone in the project will be the removal of the scaffolding in the next few weeks.

Dave Galvin, managing director of the Blackpool Housing Company, said: “I think people will be genuinely impressed when they see the work we are doing.
“We are putting in some high quality housing and being sensitive to the street scene in the refurbishment of the building.”