Green light for major growth at Wellington Place
Planning approval has been granted for the next stage of a major office, retail and leisure scheme in central Leeds.
Enabling works by developer and asset manager MEPC have now started on the latest phase at 11 and 12 Wellington Place.
Once complete the 245,000 sq ft Grade A BREAAM excellent office and retail/leisure space is set to welcome 2,500 more people to the area.
11 & 12 Wellington Place will be the tenth building to be completed, taking the number of people at the overall Wellington Place complex to 12,500.
What was originally designed as a standalone building has been doubled in size in order to meet the growing demand for office space in the city, with vacancy levels at Wellington Place currently at 0.4% per cent, versus 5% vacancy across the rest of the city.
Boasting a metallic bronze façade, a feature link bridge and a living green wall, the building also features bike maintenance stations and changing facilities with showers and lockers. Work is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
Paul Pavia, head of development at MEPC, said: “2019 was another incredibly successful year for us at the Wellington Place development, and things look set to continue as we start with the enabling work on 11 & 12.
“This will be the first speculative building to be started in the west end of the masterplan and once complete will bring more extremely high-quality office and retail space to the Leeds market.
“This planning application approval will enable us to continue to meet the demand for more high-quality office space, as more businesses look to expand or relocate to Leeds.
“It also demonstrates the success of what we’ve created here – a strong and vibrant community where companies thrive.
“This move to double the size of the next building at Wellington Place also shows our commitment to supporting the city’s ambitious growth plans, and we’re looking forward to moving to the next stage of our ambitious plans in 2020.”
Meanwhile, work continues elsewhere across the development, with 4 Wellington Place due for completion in October.
The building, which will offer 156,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, has already been pre-let by the Stars Group, with only 22,000 sq ft of ground floor retail space remaining.
