Work has begun on the upgrade of a striking eight-storey office building in central Leeds, which will house a new rail industry hub.
Network Rail and the Department for Transport (DfT) are spending £40 million on the transformation of Princes Exchange, which will bring the building – which has 108,576 square feet of floor space – back into use.
Network Rail and Platform4 are working with contractor Willmott Dixon to deliver the project. Platform 4 is a company set up by Network Rail to develop brownfield railway land. It also builds new homes.
The project follows Network Rail buying the empty building in 2024, and is expected to be completed in June 2027.
Network Rail and other rail industry organisations will occupy three floors of the building, while the other five floors will be fitted out to be commercially let from the middle of next year.
The redeveloped building will include a dedicated rail hub entrance and reception, with new welfare facilities for staff.
The main entrance and external facade will be refurbished, including replacing all windows and the roof.
Work will also be carried out to improve the space outside the building, which faces the Aire Street entrance to Leeds station.
There will be high-quality amenities in the basement, which will include cycle storage and changing facilities.
The development will deliver social value, and the work will include apprenticeships, work experience placements, educational activities and support for community projects. By sustainably reusing furniture and materials from the site, Network Rail expects to save around eighty tonnes of carbon and to be able to donate ten thousand pounds’ worth of equipment to charitable organisations.
Working to maximise the value of rail land for both the railway and for wider public benefit is exactly what Platform4 was set up to do. At Princes Exchange, we’ve worked with Network Rail and our other partners not only to deliver landmark office space for colleagues and businesses but also to unlock critical land, enabling rail growth in Leeds.
Andrew Ferguson, interim chief executive of Platform4, Network Rail’s property development company
Responses
So is this additional office space so Network Rail can employ more “Directors”; “Senior Managers”; “Managers”; and “Chief Executives ???
Or will this result in the closure of other Network Rail office accommodation and then a cost saving ?? If not then why do it ??