‘We’re not building to sell, we’re in it for the long, long-term’
Last week TheBusinessdesk.com held its Yorkshire Property lunch, where an invited audience of over 30 property and business professionals from across the region gathered at Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant in Leeds to hear an update on Aire Park from Vastint UK’s Head of Development North, Simon Schofield.
Sponsored by Design Tonic, the audience enjoyed a two-course lunch, while learning about the 24-acre project that is already transforming Leeds’ South Bank. Ultimately, it will deliver nearly one million sq ft of commercial and retail space, an eight-acre city centre park and 1,400 homes.
Schofield started the event with a brief recap, noting that Vastint UK acquired the site from Carlsberg in 2015 and explained how the approach to master planning the site “essentially split it into two thirds (Phase 1) and one third (Phase 2)”.
This first phase is centred around commercial office and retail with four main buildings, the first two of which are nearing completion. These will then be followed by 850 apartments, the renovation of the Tetley and the park – which is a priority for the developer.
Schofield explained: “When I came on board, I was told very firmly by Vastint UK that the park must come first, and there are already areas of it open with the main larger section available to use from the third quarter of next year.”
According to Schofield, who was born and raised in Leeds and has returned to the city for this project, the second phase of development which is soon to be submitted for outline planning permission, will be more residential led. Plans show the creation of 500 apartments alongside new commercial space, the renovation of The Crown Hotel, and office space designed to appeal to the creative industries.
Asked when Aire Park will be completed, the industry veteran said: “If all goes to plan, we’ll be completing by 2032 which really isn’t that far away.”
During the conversation Schofield noted that Vastint UK was unlike many developers as a result of being part of a bigger organisation and family of companies.
He explained that this ownership structure means there are no third-party investors or finance debt, and this frees up the business to pursue its own direction.
“It means we can manage design and construction ourselves and use partners local to our developments,” he said.
“It also means we’re not building to sell, and we’re involved from creation through the entire lifecycle of our buildings, so we’re in it for the long, long-term.”
The benefit of this structure, according to Schofield, is that: “We [Vastint UK] don’t have a need to fill our projects from day one, so we can take our time to find the right occupiers.”
This begs the question, who are the right occupiers?
Schofield highlighted that the team is open minded but added: “We are definitely looking at large corporate clients who want to take large floorplates but we’re also happy to subdivide floors.”
He explained Vastint UK is also keen to engage with independents and well-known names in the city – such as Laynes coffee shop – to discuss opportunities within Aire Park.
“What’s most important is that we get the right mix of businesses, retail and leisure providers, that offer a range of options for the people who will live and work at Aire Park, from a meal deal to some affordable quality dining in The Tetley,” he said.
Throughout the discussion, he placed particular emphasis on the scale of Aire Park. He described it as “a small town on the edge of the existing city centre”, and noted that when finished it would have over 10,000 people working there every day, plus 3,000 residents. A significant transformation for a site which was home to around 1,000 workers during the 1960s when Tetley’s was at its height and 200 workers before work started on the project.
From discussion of the new buildings, the conversation turned to one of the most iconic parts of the Aire Park development, the art deco Tetley Building. Asked about what was happening with this building, Schofield commented on how the team is “getting on with” safeguarding it for the future.
He said: “The Tetley is nearing its centenary, and we need to invest to give it another 100 years of life. While people like to look at buildings like The Tetley, they don’t always want to actually occupy them, because historic buildings come with cost and sustainability challenges.
“Our plans however look to retain as much of the heritage of the building as possible while also bringing it up to modern standards. We plan to renovate the oak panelled rooms and bring them back to their pomp, reinstate the art deco lift and make it operational, as well as renovate other key features like the war memorial, treating them with love and care.”
As for future plans for the building, he shared some ideas which include “a speakeasy style bar in the basement,” and a ground floor events space “that will be great for weddings or creative exhibitions.”
From the discussion it is clear that Vastint UK’s ambition for Aire Park is significant and that Schofield and his team have a real commitment to delivering a once-in-a-generation project which will leave a lasting impact on the city.
