As shopping centre redevelopments continue to grow throughout the UK, local developers and construction firms are increasingly becoming more able to reap the rewards of multi million pound projects. This has been the case for Yorkshire based Caddick Construction, which has this week been awarded the contract for the revamp of Leeds’ The Core Shopping Centre.
The contract, worth £2.4 million, will see Caddick Construction create a new food court within the popular shopping centre along with carrying out essential interior and exterior maintenance works and refurbishments. Work began immediately following Caddick’s appointment, and their team is scheduled to be on site for 26 weeks.
Project manager at Caddick Construction, Simon Laycock, explained in detail the work that will be carried out by the firm in the coming months.
He said; “Over the next 26 weeks we’ll be creating eight new food outlet spaces and seating areas in order to bolster The Core’s restaurant line up.
“We’ll also be adding a new escalator to sit alongside the current escalator at Lands Lane, so that shoppers can now move between both levels of the centre with ease – as well as this, new feature glass surrounding the stairwell will be installed to provide an aesthetic feel to the area.
“What’s more, the Lands Lane entrance will also have new windows fitted, in order to provide further appeal for new tenants looking for a prime Leeds City Centre location.”
Owners at The Core have certainly managed to bring in one of the local area’s most experienced firms for this exciting project as, along with more than 30 years of market knowledge, Caddick Construction has recently been involved with such projects as Rotherham’s new shopping parade, the Vangarde Shopping Park in York and the Ellesmere Shopping Centre in Walkden.
Caddick Civil Engineering and Caddick Construction make up the operational arms of Caddick Group plc – a group which employs around 500 workers in the local area and last year enjoyed an annual turnover of £90 million.
The Core is already home to brands such as Waitrose, HMV and Sports Direct, and recently welcomed Burger King as its newest food and beverage outlet. By increasing the amount of retail space for restaurants and cafés, property manager for The Core Nicola Lavelle believes that local consumers will be more inclined to shop locally rather than travel to out of town retail parks.
She continues; “As Leeds’ food and retail scene continues to adapt and develop, the evolution of The Core Shopping Centre will add an exciting new dimension to the city, especially to its food offering.
“We are in talks with some exciting brands and we look forward to announcing a flurry of new food and beverage offerings in the not so distant future.”
Shopping centre owners are increasingly turning to leisure and food firms in order to round out the customer experience – with The Core choosing to continue this trend, it seems it may well be part of the evolving retail industry for some time to come.
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