Building sold for £3.9m as construction of 37-storey tower begins
A property investment firm has now completed the sale of a city centre building which has planning permission in place to be replaced with a 37-storey tower.
Ace Liberty and Stone has completed the sale of Hume House in Leeds for £3.9m. The property was purchased in March 2014 for £1.6m.
The 1960s building has been bought by Olympian Homes, which in July received planning permission to develop the property into student accommodation.
Construction work started on the new 37-storey building this week. The site, located on Tower House Street in the Arena Quarter, will provide 752 bedrooms of purpose-built student accommodation, along with a roof terrace on the 35th floor to take advantage of the uninterrupted views across the city. At its peak Hume House will create over 300 construction jobs and will create a number of apprenticeships.
Ace Liberty and Stone said that when completed, it will be the tallest building in Yorkshire and North East England, with a height of 114.3m and will provide 278,000 sq ft of accommodation. The property listed development firm worked with the buyer to secure planning permission for the development.
Ismail Ghandour, Chief Executive Officer of Ace Liberty and Stone, said: “This transaction is an excellent example of the Company’s investment strategy in action and shows our ability to spot value in the market and deliver healthy returns for our investors. We identified Hume House as a Government let building in a key regional gateway location with only two years’ left on its lease at the time of purchase.
“Importantly we are focussed on acquiring properties that have a variety of potential uses, whether that means potential development, improvements or rental agreements. In this case the developers plan to build a much larger structure in place of the current building, which will become the largest building in the North of England. This will be a wonderful edition [addition] to Leeds, a regional hub that continues to attract investment, especially as the plan is for the building to become student accommodation, a key asset to the University, the surrounding urban area and the city as a whole.”
The existing 1960s-built Hume House building is being demolished and building beginning in readiness for occupation of the development in August 2021. As part of the plans, the public realm surrounding the building would be enhanced and a contribution will be provided towards improving the pedestrian environment along Merrion Way.
