Construction begins on £152m Kirkstall Road venture
Glenbrook has started work on the 618-apartment scheme next to the River Aire in Leeds.
Planning permission was secured in March 2023, and work is expected to complete by the end of 2027.
Real estate investor Barings has agreed to provide the forward funding of the project, which will be a mix of BTR and BTS homes one mile from the city centre and half a mile from Wellington Place.
The scheme has been acquired by a US insurance company and Glenbrook will retain a stake in the joint venture.
CBRE and Freeths advised Glenbrook on the deal.
Divided across five buildings, the apartments consist of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, with landscaped grounds and more than 10,000 sq ft of amenity space including a residents’ lounge, co-working space, a gym, two private roof terraces, and almost 4,000 sq ft of commercial space.
In terms of sustainable features, all apartments will benefit from air source heat pumps, and solar panels will meet a portion of the electricity demand of the building.
This will be the fourth BTR-led development that Barings and Glenbrook have collaborated on following North West ventures Vox, The Trilogy, and The Keel, all of which are managed by Allsop Letting and Management.
ALM will also operate the Kirkstall Road site.
Ben Pile, head of European residential investment and asset management at Barings Real Estate, said: “Leeds represents a significant opportunity for growth for institutionally developed and operated residential property as the UK’s fourth biggest city, featuring a lively population of young professionals thanks to a strong employment market and significant graduate retention rate.
“Given the stabilising economic and political environments in the UK and as we enter a new real estate cycle in Europe, we expect the picture for residential property – and indeed our other preferred sector of logistics – to become even more positive and are, therefore, actively seeking further opportunities to deploy capital on behalf of our partners.”
Ian Sherry, co-founder of Glenbrook, said: “This development not only addresses the urgent need for housing in Leeds but also contributes to the revitalisation of the Kirkstall Road area.”
