Leeds City Council has approved plans for the second phase of the £400m Kirkstall Forge commercial development in the city.
The £32m second phase will involve the construction of 200,000 square feet of commercial space across two office buildings, with leisure and retail space on the ground floor.
Developed by Commercial Estates Group (CEG), the phase is part of a major project that will deliver 1,385 residential units, a 120-room hotel, 300,000 square feet of offices, 100,000 square feet of retail space, and infrastructure improvements including new access roads and a new bridge over the River Aire in Leeds.
A contractor has not yet been chosen for the scheme, while Arcadis is currently the development’s project manager. Investment firm CBRE has been appointed to act as a joint agent on the scheme.
Wates was appointed as principal contractor for the first phase in 2015, which will see completion of a 5,534-square-metre, seven-storey office building.
Commenting on the planning permission, CEG investment manager Paul Richardson said: “This next phase of the development will bring some of the most advanced office space to Leeds.”
The buildings are available for pre-let, with workspace available through CEG’s shared workspace programme Core and Flex. Richardson said this will allow a business to “expand and contract within the space to help manage company growth and additional projects, as well as seasonal demand and the effects that social distancing will have on office requirements”.
The second phase of the development is expected to be delivered in 2022.
