The transformation of a Yorkshire city’s “ugly duckling” business quarter is moving a step closer to completion with the overhaul of its biggest single office block.
Work starts next week on the multi-million pound refurbishment of Leeds’ landmark 9 Bond Court, a 68,230 sq ft part-let office building in the city’s Bond Court district. The flagship building is already home to several professional firms — including global property consultancy Knight Frank, Stewarts Law, stockbrokers Redmayne-Bentley and corporate restructuring specialists Begbies Traynor — and the upgrade will release an extra 15,500sq ft of Grade A floorspace onto the market.
“This extensive refurbishment, which features substantial interior and exterior work, is making 9 Bond Court one of the finest central office buildings in the city,” commented Alex Duckett, an associate with tenant Knight Frank.
“It was already impressive, with its height dominating the central Leeds cityscape, but it will now be transformed into a statement building,” he added. “The new-look 9 Bond Court reinforces this location in the market place, completely changing people’s perception of the building and with its office accommodation perfectly in tune with the Leeds office occupier both from a size and also rental perspective.”
Recently purchased from F&C REIT Asset Management by international property managers Cordea Savills on behalf of an un-named client, Leeds City Council has granted approval for the refurbishment of the offices and lobbies; the creation of a new reception area and entrance; a new basement shower and changing facility, and floor-to-ceiling glazing.The work is expected to be completed by July next year.
Knight Frank and Savills have been appointed joint agents. “When previous owners F&C REIT Asset Management bought 9 Bond Court in 2004, they did a substantial amount of modernisation work on the building,” explained Gary Bulloch of Savills, who is project managing the refurbishment. “We have taken this a step further to create much-needed high-quality office space in the centre of Leeds, fit for the 21st century.”
Once described as an “ugly duckling” area of the city, every single building in the Leeds district is now getting an upgrade or being replaced with a new development.
A new 10-storey, 90-bedroom Dakota Hotel is replacing the brutalist Greek Street car park and will be complemented by extensive facelifts for the Evans Property Group-owned Capitol House and Minerva House, which is undergoing a £5m transformation.
Existing office tenants at the 30,500sq ft Minerva House, including the Sports Council, recruiters Blackrock Executive and Illiad Solutions Limited, have been consolidated into three floors to allow the first phase of the work to go ahead. And award-winning interior designer Katharine Pooley — whose previous projects include the interiors for the Royal and VIP Lounges at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 — has been commissioned to create a new ground floor and reception area.
Meanwhile, a new student housing project at Pennine House Bond Court, the Wilton Developments-owned 2 Bond Court, once known as Midland House, and the recently-purchased Aquis House, are all combining to create a new-look quarter within the business enclave.
