Approval for Leeds ‘spaceship’ office redevelopment
Redevelopment plans for a 1980’s office block in Leeds have been approved despite one councillor claiming the building would resemble a ‘spaceship’.
Property developers Ripley Capital, investors Formal Investments and their architects think architecture and design have been granted planning permission for the redevelopment of the existing office building at 21 Queen Street, Leeds (pictured).
Whilst Leeds planning officers reported that the redesign of the offices was innovative, other council members disagreed. Councillor Elizabeth Nash said of the additional 2-storey extension “the thing on the top looks like a spaceship has landed”. Her colleague councillor Graham Latty said “We have some interesting things in this part of the world but this takes the biscuit.” The plans were approved at the last planning committee meeting.
The existing building, renamed from Prince William House to 21 Queens Street last September, was constructed in 1983 and offers approximately 25,000 sq ft of office space. The building, which is currently vacant, has been previously marketed with a rental price of £10 / sq ft. The premises are located in the business district of Leeds city centre, within 5 minutes walk of Leeds City Railway Station.
With the addition of two new floors, the building will offer in excess of 37,000 sq ft of floor space. The redevelopment is speculative and the developers aim to market the building as Grade A specification, headquarters style office accommodation. A BREEAM rating of at least “Very Good’ is expected. The building was last occupied by law firm Irwin Mitchell up until 2008.
Construction work is expected to commence in April with a completion target of early, 2012.
This entry was posted in West Yorkshire and tagged Planning, Renovations, Speculative Developments. Bookmark the permalink.