MEPC Chief Executive, Rick de Blaby, officially commenced construction when he broke ground at 10 Wellington Place - a striking, £5.5m, five storey building. Mr de Blaby said:
“This ground breaking ceremony marks a critical new phase for Wellington Place and creates a new page of history for this important site in Leeds.
“We salute Shulmans for being the first to take the strategic decision to invest in a new move for their business to 10 Wellington Place and we are delighted to invest in the building and domain to accommodate them.
“We are now looking to invest again in further buildings, as the indications are that there are other companies looking to follow in the footsteps that Shulmans has taken.
“The development of Wellington Place seems to chime with a wider sense of confidence which is gathering momentum in Leeds, with the opening of the fabulous Trinity Centre, the excitement of the new Leeds First Direct Arena and the exhilaration around the Tour de France starting in Leeds in 2014.
“An important pre-let like this at 10 Wellington Place is something we think will catalyse more activity at Wellington Place, taking us towards the fulfilment of our original vision of making this the exemplary five-star urban quarter for the West End in which people will want to live, work and enjoy their time.”
Wellington Place is the largest regeneration site under single ownership in Leeds City Centre. It was previously home to Leeds Central Railway Station for 119 years, before the station was closed in 1967 and all of Leeds’ train services were consolidated at Leeds City Railway Station.
10 Wellington Place is the third phase of a 14-phase development which will offer 1.5 million sq. ft. of commercial, retail, leisure and residential space in the heart of Leeds.
The offices will be built by the national contractor, Shepherd Construction. When complete in June 2014, the BREEAM Excellent-rated building will benefit from the ever-growing social amenities of Wellington Place facing the new public square.
Award-winning commercial law firm, Shulmans, will be the first firm to move into the new office development, relocating from its current base at 120 Wellington Street. Tim Halstead, Shulmans’ managing partner said:
“We are delighted to be the first occupants of what will undoubtedly prove to be a landmark development in the city.
“Our move to 10 Wellington Place represents a significant investment for Shulmans and is reflective of our successful growth plans.
“Five years ago we put into place a highly specific programme of growing the business by 50 per cent in five years and we are bang on target; this relocation is another step forward in that programme.”
Shulmans will join existing occupiers such as Sky, Allianz, Towers Watson, Irwin Mitchel, RSM Tenon and PwC which already have offices at Wellington Place.
Mr de Blaby said he hoped to announce another pre-let later this year.
“When the recession really took hold, it was common for developers to mothball their sites but as long term investors we were keen to establish a sense of place and community at Wellington Place, which is why we established 5-a-side football facilities, allotments, beekeeping, temporary landscaping and a busy events programme which encourages both residents and workers in Leeds to engage with the site.
“This approach is indicative of how Wellington Place aims to offer the most compelling proposition to occupiers. At Wellington Place we can justifiably prove we offer the best location, the best building, and the best overall deal in Leeds. But in a world of scarce capital for new development, it is critically about offering the most deliverable proposition too, and MEPC can deliver new development as evidenced here.”
Planning permission was granted for 10 Wellington Place, a 35,000 sq. ft. building in September 2010.
That permission includes plans for a further 106,000 sq. ft. of office space at 3 Wellington Place, 155,000 sq. ft. at 4 Wellington Place and a further 59,000 sq. ft. at 5 Wellington Place.
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