A closer look at Number One Kirkstall Forge
TheBusinessDesk.com has had a preview of the new £400m Number One Kirkstall Forge development before tenants move in next week.
The 110,000 sq ft building is around 70% pre-let, with Zenith due to imminently move from current premises in Calverley to occupy four floors. The fit out of these floors was underway when TheBusinessDesk.com visited.
Between 400-450 people from Zenith will be based at Kirkstall Forge, which will become the firm’s HQ after they signed up to the pre-let in April 2016.
Each of the building’s six floors is 18.5 sq ft. On the ground floor, around a quarter of the space is taken up by a cafe and business lounge area. Jon Kenny, development director at property developer CEG, said this would form event space where appropriate too and that it would be open later on Thursday and Friday evenings to offer people a chance to meet and socialise.
“People don’t just work 9am-5pm, everywhere has a different way of working and people often want to wind down afterwards; we want to offer that chance to this new community,” said Kenny.
Around 50 CEG employees will be based on the ground floor of the building, with the firm looking to itself grow in the coming years. Kenny added: “We do feel that Leeds is a significant growth area for our business as well.”
He also said that the firm doesn’t see the complex as being “out of town” because of the train line which the development sits on, allowing connectivity into Leeds within minutes.
The construction of the project comes in at around £25m for Number One Kirkstall and the whole scheme, with further offices and houses to be built subject to planning approval in future years, will cost between £200m and £25om to construct. Wate Construction have delivered the current build and initial work began on site in April 2016.
So what were the challenges of the build and why was it constructed in the way it has been?
Kenny said: “As with any build of this scale, detailed investigations were carried out so that there were no surprises. But we knew that the position in the valley meant that the basement was below the water table.
“Watching the pumping of water in those stages of the build was phenomenal. And the water coming out was completely clear.”
Kirkstall Forge is one of the oldest industrial sites in the country, with an 800 year history.
Graham Forsyth, director at Cooper Cromer, architects for the build, said: “This is the first building on this development and so it sets the theme. We have used full height glass throughout and linked colour schemes back to industrial heritage on the site. We have done this using natural colours. It’s important the history is recognised in the next stage of this site’s development.”
Given the locality near to the canal, flood defence works have been installed to add resilience and there is a primary sub-station on site too. Nick Lee, head of commercial development at CEG, said data and energy resilience had also been factored into the new building, with companies looking to let space needing assurances that there are no power or data outages.
“Technology is incredibly important for the way in which people work. We have set up multiple data routes through the building. With power and flood protection, this is the most resilient building in Leeds.”
The building forms part of the wider 57-acre Kirkstall Forge. Currently there are 300 car parking spaces and 56 in the basement of Kirkstall One.
TheBusinessDesk.com last week reported that the residential phase of the Kirkstall Forge development had moved ahead, with developers CEG receiving planning permission for 112 homes and 23,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and community space.
Kenny said: “We want to create a community which creates an opportunity for people to settle here in Kirkstall Forge. I am really proud to see all of this come together.”
