HBG Properties set for second major development in Leeds
21 November 2005 - HBG Properties, the national property development arm of HBG UK Ltd, together with Barratt Leeds, have been selected by the Leeds City Council Executive Board as the prime developer for the Leeds International Pool site in Leeds, known as St. Paul’s Quarter. The site, encompassing a total of three acres, has frontages to St. Paul’s Street, Little Queen Street, Castle Street, Lisbon Street and the central motorway (A58(M) and A64(M)). News of this development green light follows last month’s announcement that HBG Properties had acquired the 9 ½ acre Monks Bridge site in Leeds for a major mixed use development.
At the heart of the St. Paul’s Quarter development scheme are collaborative designs for five new buildings by Carey Jones Architects and Make Architects, the latter led by Ken Shuttleworth. Central to the scheme is a 24-storey circular apartment block known as ‘The Spiracle Tower’, designed by Make, consisting of 144 residential units with 144 parking spaces at basement level. The development also features four blocks of 8-storey office buildings, with a mix of A1 and A3 retail units in the ground floor, all totalling 480,000 ft2, as well as 300 car parking spaces at basement level for the office occupiers, and 21 affordable housing units.
Attached to this central development is a 200-space public car park at basement and sub-basement levels, a high quality, landscaped public realm area at podium level and a pedestrian footbridge (design by Arup) over the central motorway, linking the development with both the city centre and the communities towards Kirkstall.
It is envisaged that the scheme will be phased over a seven-year period. However, the main works will not begin until the new swimming pool and diving centre is opened in south Leeds and the old pool is decommissioned.
Ian Pennington, Director of HBG Properties and based in Leeds, said: “This scheme promises to deliver a major new landmark in the city, combining a notable regeneration of the area into an enhanced environmental space for the community at large, as well as a major commercial element providing even greater scope for the burgeoning economic development of the city of Leeds”. He added: “The development of the St. Paul’s Quarter, added to the recent acquisition of the Monks Bridge site, gives HBG Properties a wonderful opportunity to build upon its already strong presence in the city and to become an even more integral partner in the city’s exciting future prosperity.”
For further information please contact:
HBG UK Ltd, Alan Smith, telephone 020 8338 2635.