Two of Leeds’ biggest office buildings are getting multi-million pound makeovers in a bid to transform the city’s “ugly duckling business district into a 21st century player”. The projects will also ease Yorkshire’s dire shortage of high-quality office space.
Work has already started on the £2.8m upgrade of the city’s Capitol House. The project, which will create 20,000sq ft of high-end offices at the Bond Court building, is part of major regeneration of its city centre sites by owners Evans Property Group.
The six-month Capitol House scheme includes external improvements to the windows and elevation, a new double height enlarged feature reception, lift and stairwell refurbishment, the modernisation of all common areas and the refurbishment of 20,000sq ft of office accommodation on the first and third floors.
The conversion of the nine-storey Minerva office building on East Parade, another Evans property, into Grade A space is only weeks away from completion. The company will then start work on transforming the former “stacker” car park on Greek Street into a 90-bed, four-star hotel.
“We are extremely fortunate to have such well-positioned offices as Capitol House and Minerva in our Leeds city centre portfolio and are committed to maximising their potential,” explained Evans’ portfolio director, Alan Syers. “Our vision for the Bond Court district is to create an outstanding public area surrounded by high quality offices and a luxury hotel that will attract people living in, and visiting, Leeds.”
In a separate scheme one of Leeds’ tallest office buildings is getting a £2m upgrade. “There is a lack of good quality Grade A stock, not just in Leeds but across Yorkshire, and this extensive refurbishment work will give 9 Bond Court an exciting new lease of life,” said Patrick Carter, associate director at Savills which acted for the building’s new owner. The property was recently sold by F&C REIT Asset Management for £12.4m to an un-named buyer.
A number of existing tenants will benefit from the upgrade — to include the refurbishment of two 6,500sq ft office floors, a new reception area and entrance, new basement shower facilities, and floor-to-ceiling glazing — among them property consultancy Knight Frank, stockbrokers Redmayne-Bentley, and corporate rescue and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor.
The work, scheduled for completion early next year, “will make 9 Bond Court one of the finest central office buildings in Leeds and will completely change people’s perception of the building,” explained Elizabeth Ridler, a partner with Knight Frank. “It was already impressive, with its height dominating the central Leeds cityscape, but it will now be transformed into a statement building.
“The refurbishment of 9 Bond Court also complements perfectly the renaissance of the Bond Court area in the heart of the city,” Ridler added. “With the new state-of-the-art, four-star Dakota Hotel replacing the brutalist Greek Street car park, and both Minerva house and Capitol House being upgraded, this area, once an ugly duckling, will become the new heart of the professional core in Leeds.”
