Gregory Property Group has exchanged contracts to purchase a one-acre site on Bingley Street in Leeds city centre for student residential development.
The prime site is currently occupied by Maxi’s Chinese restaurant which plans to relocate within the area if a suitable opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, it will focus on Maxi’s York, in Nether Poppleton, another 300-seater restaurant serving its traditional Cantonese and Peking cuisine since 1999.
WYG on behalf of Gregory Property Group has submitted a full planning application to demolish the existing restaurant and deliver a multi-storey purpose-built complex to house around 400 bedrooms.
The long established, local developer is responsible for a number of landmark developments in Leeds including office schemes on Wellington Street and Whitehall Road and also delivered the award winning £40 million Broad Street Plaza mixed use scheme in Halifax. It is expanding its residential portfolio with a number of bespoke housing developments in Yorkshire and is actively seeking other prime site opportunities.
Barry Gregory of Gregory Property Group said, “We are pleased to have secured this site through competitive tender which recognises the credentials of our long-established business to deliver sustainable development.
“The appetite for high quality student accommodation continues to grow apace with Leeds being one of the top ten university destinations in the UK. With a growing student population of around 60,000 students in the city there remains sustainable demand. More than half the student population is made up of University of Leeds which has a growing number of international students who have a propensity to stay in purpose built student accommodation (PBSA). This particular site sits within an established PBSA location, where accommodation is most needed.
Cushman and Wakefield reports that Leeds is one of the UK’s largest student markets and is home to five Higher Education institutions and over 50,000 full-time students. The University of Leeds is the City’s largest institution with over 30,000 students, more than half of the full-time student population. Leeds Beckett University attracts nearly 19,000 students, whilst the City’s three smaller, specialist institutions account for over 5,000 full-time students.
The report says that at 3,959 bed spaces, the development pipeline in Leeds is low when compared with a number of other major cities –e.g. Liverpool (7,258), Sheffield (7,002), Newcastle (4,585) and Birmingham (4,051). It concludes that with current demand and projected growth for PBSA, there is currently a lack of supply.
Gregory Property Group is aiming to start on site in February 2019, subject to planning consent and add to an outstanding track record in delivering property developments across the North of England for over 30 years.
Michael Leonard of Carisbrooke Estates acted on behalf of Gregory Property Group in the acquisition of the site.
