City Square House tops out

Contractor McAleer & Rushe has reached the highest point of construction for developer MRP on the 140,000 sq ft office building close to Leeds station.

Completion of the £100m City Square House is scheduled for the end of 2023, along with public realm work at City Square.

The 12-storey building will include terraces on the fourth, fifth and sixth levels. Law firm DLA Piper has committed to 83,000 sq ft in the largest pre-let Leeds has seen in 20 years, while Market, a provider of tax and legal advice to SMEs, has taken 20,000 sq ft on a 15-year lease

Tom Riordan, Leeds City Council’s chief executive, was at the topping-out, te day before UK REiiF kicks off in the city. He said: “It’s brilliant to see the progress being made on City Square House which is one of the most prominent locations in Leeds city centre.

“Further investment into commercial space, record cranes on our skyline and the growing appeal of Leeds to global businesses, shows how our great city is really continuing to thrive economically.”

Angus Montieth, development director at MRP, said: “We have been quietly going about our business of building the best office development in Leeds with sustainability and wellbeing at the heart of its design. City Square House is now nearing completion and will be the final piece of the City Square regeneration plan.

“We are delighted to welcome two companies with such excellent reputations as DLA Piper and Markel to City Square House. Our vision was to provide high specification, flexible Grade A workspace in the heart of the city centre and it is tremendously rewarding to witness this vision becoming a reality with more than 100,000 sq ft of space already let.”

Eamon Fox, partner and head of office agency at Knight Frank, which is marketing the building, said that there is strong interest in the remaining 37,000 sq ft, describing the building as “the iconic new office development that the Leeds market has been waiting for”.

When complete, the scheme will bring 140,000 sq ft to the Leeds market. Credit: Knight Frank