One of Yorkshire’s best known city centre office buildings could be transformed into a hotel, it has been revealed.
Property firm Bruntwood revealed that it was in talks with a number of parties who were interested in moving in to the 14-storey City House, which stands next to Leeds train station.
City House was bought by Bruntwood, a family-owned commercial property firm, in July 2010 and the company hopes to have it ready for occupation this year.
In 2011, Bruntwood obtained planning permission to redevelop City House, which dates from 1962 and has been empty for seven years.
The city’s political and business leaders are keen to see the building brought back into use, because of its prominent position at the heart of Leeds city centre.
Craig Burrow, the director of Bruntwood’s Leeds operations, said yesterday: “Leeds is a core location for our business.
“At City House we are in fairly advanced negotiations with end users.
“It (City House) has attracted interest from a wide range of users,..There could be multiple uses for the building - one possibility is a hotel, but there could also be interest in using it as offices and a gym. One of the biggest challenges and advantages is its location - we have got a very good working relationship with Network Rail, who are looking at making some significant improvements to the station. City House fits in with aspirations to create a quality gateway.”
According to Mr Burrow, there are a number of companies actively seeking larger bases in Leeds.
He added: “The existing stock is diminishing. We will see cranes on the skyline of Leeds this year, in places like Sovereign Street. New build development is coming back this year.”
Bruntwood owns a number of high profile sites in Leeds, including West One and 100 Wellington Street, which it bought for £2.5m last year.
Mr Burrow added: “100 Wellington Street has been absorbed into the West One estate.
“We finished the first phase of the redevelopment of 100 Wellington Street towards the end of last year.”
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