Member Article

Wates Construction awarded £100 million Central Square Leeds development

West Yorkshire’s Roydhouse Properties Ltd and Marrico LLP have appointed contractor Wates Construction for its £100 million Central Square development on Wellington Street in Leeds.

The announcement follows receipt of planning permission for the flagship 11-storey office scheme, which was granted by Leeds City Council in March this year. Work on the project will commence in June, followed by a build programme of approximately 100 weeks.

Situated between Whitehall Road and Wellington Street on the former Royal Mail site, the 220,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme will comprise 11 storeys of flexible Grade A office space, retail and leisure provision. The building is providing 25,000 sq ft office footplates to meet the modern requirements of occupiers looking to locate within the City Centre, which Leeds cannot accommodate at the moment.

Designed by DLA Design, the development will also include accessible public thoroughfares, 128 car parking spaces, a ninth floor sky garden with city centre views, a central atrium and winter garden.

Mark Barnes, managing partner at Marrico LLP, confirms that Wates have been appointed and will be on site over the next few weeks. “This shows the market our commitment to Leeds and will provide a building which will be ready for tenants to start fitting out late 2015 with the building being fully complete by Spring 2016”

David Price, business unit director, Wates Construction, Yorkshire, commented: “Investment in the region, both private and public, has seen a considerable resurgence of late and the progress made on the delivery of Central Square is demonstrative of the growing confidence in our region.

“Our appointment to this flagship scheme is testament to our extensive expertise in commercial developments and we are very proud to be playing a key role in the ever-changing landscape of Leeds city centre.”

Councillor Richard Lewis, Executive Member for Development & Economy said: “It is good news that development is about to start on site and is further evidence of Leeds coming out of recession. This development will provide a further boost to the Leeds’ office market and gives confidence to the supply of Grade ‘A’ space in the City.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .